View source for George William Howlan

{{short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
| name             = George William Howlan
| honorific-suffix = 
| image            = George William Howlan.jpg
| imagesize        = 
| office           = 6th [[Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island]]
| predecessor      = [[Jedediah Slason Carvell]]
| successor        = [[Peter Adolphus McIntyre]]
| term_start       = February 21, 1894
| term_end         = May 23, 1899
| monarch          = [[Queen Victoria|Victoria]]
| governor_general = [[John Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair|The Earl of Aberdeen]]<br>[[Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto|The Earl of Minto]]
| premier          = [[Frederick Peters]]<br>[[Alexander Warburton]]<br>[[Donald Farquharson (politician)|Donald Farquharson]]
| office2          = [[Senate of Canada|Senator]] for Alberton, Prince Edward Island
| nominator2       = [[John A. Macdonald]]
| term_start2      = March 25, 1891
| term_end2        = February 1894
| nominator3       = [[John A. Macdonald]]
| term_start3      = January 5, 1881
| term_end3        = February 18, 1891
| nominator4       = [[John A. Macdonald]]
| term_start4      = October 18, 1873
| term_end4        = December 27, 1880
| office5          = Member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island]] for [[1st Prince]]
| predecessor5     = 
| successor5       = 
| term_start5      = 1862
| term_end5        = 1873
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1835|05|19}}
| birth_place      = [[New Ross]], [[County Wexford]], Ireland
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1901|05|11|1835|05|19}}
| death_place      = [[Charlottetown]], [[Prince Edward Island]], [[Canada|Dominion of Canada]]
| nationality      = Canadian
| spouse           = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Elizabeth Olson|1866}}
* {{marriage|Mary Doran|1881}}
}}
| party            = [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]]
| relations        =
| children         =
| residence        = [[Alberton, Prince Edward Island]]
| alma_mater       = [[University of Prince Edward Island]]
| occupation       = merchant, ship owner, ship builder, and customs officer
| profession       = Politician
| cabinet          = 
| committees       = 
| portfolio        = 
| signature        =
| website          =
| footnotes        =
}}{{Inline citations|date=April 2025}}
'''George William Howlan''' (May 19, 1835 &ndash; May 11, 1901) was an [[Ireland|Irish]]-born merchant, ship owner and political figure in [[Prince Edward Island]].

He represented [[1st Prince]] in the [[Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island]] from 1863 to 1873 as a [[Prince Edward Island Liberal Party|Liberal]] member. He represented Alberton division in the [[Senate of Canada]] from 1873 to 1894 and was the province's [[List of lieutenant governors of Prince Edward Island#Lieutenant Governors of Prince Edward Island, 1873-present|sixth]] [[Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island|Lieutenant Governor]] from 1894 to 1899.

He was born in [[Wexford]] and came to [[Nova Scotia]] with his parents in the late 1830s. They settled in Prince Edward Island in 1839. Howlan was educated in [[Charlottetown]] and was hired as a clerk in a store there in 1850. He moved to Cascumpec (later [[Alberton, Prince Edward Island|Alberton]]), first working for a [[Boston]] merchant there and then setting up his own business. In 1866, he married Elizabeth Olson. Howlan was named to the Executive Council in 1867, serving until 1873. However, in 1870, he threw his support behind the Conservatives after Protestants in the Liberal caucus refused to support [[separate school]]s. Howlan initially opposed [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]], believing that the island would have little say. However, he supported railway building in the province and the resulting debt load forced the island to reconsider union with Canada. In 1873, he was named customs collector at [[Charlottetown]].

In 1873, Howlan ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the House of Commons but was named to the Senate that same year. He married Mary E. Doran in 1881 after the death of his first wife. Howlan resigned from his seat in the Senate in 1891 to run unsuccessfully for a seat in the House of Commons but was appointed again to the Senate later that year. Also in 1891, he went to England as a representative of the province to discuss with engineers there the feasibility of a tunnel connecting the island to the mainland. Howlan died in Charlottetown in 1901.
{{1891 Canadian federal election/Prince County}}
== References ==
*[http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=6791 Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'']
* [https://www.lgpei.ca/former-governors/george-william-howlan The Honourable George William Howlan]{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=11438}}
*[http://www.gov.pe.ca/lg/gallery/19Howlan.php3 Lieutenant-Governor Gallery, Prince Edward Island]

{{PELG}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howlan, George W}}
[[Category:1835 births]]
[[Category:1901 deaths]]
[[Category:Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Prince Edward Island]]
[[Category:Prince Edward Island Liberal Party MLAs]]
[[Category:Canadian senators from Prince Edward Island]]
[[Category:Lieutenant governors of Prince Edward Island]]
[[Category:People from Alberton, Prince Edward Island]]
[[Category:Politicians from County Waterford]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the Senate of Canada]]