Richardson, John

Richardson, John, 1796–1852, first Canadian novelist to write in English. He fought in the War of 1812 and later served with the British army in England, Spain, and Barbados. His most famous works are two frontier romances, Wacousta (1832) and The Canadian Brothers (1840), both about the Ottawa chief Pontiac. His own experiences furnished material for Personal Memoirs (1838), The War of 1812 (1842), and other vivid, historical works.

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Richardson, John

(born Oct. 4, 1796, probably Fort George, Upper Canada—died May 12, 1852, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Canadian writer. His experience in the British army in the War of 1812 and later abroad provided material for some of his writings. The first Canadian novelist to write in English, he won acclaim with his third novel and only enduring work, Wacousta (1832), a gothic story about the Indian uprising led by Pontiac. His nonfiction includes Personal Memoirs of Major Richardson (1838) and War of 1812 (1842).

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Richardson, John 

Born Nov. 5, 1787, in Dumfries, Scotland; died June 5, 1865, in Grasmere, England. Scottish explorer of the Canadian arctic; physician.

From 1819 to 1822 and from 1825 to 1827, Richardson was a member of J. Franklin’s expeditions. In 1826, while leading a party eastward by sea from Mackenzie Bay, he discovered a part of the northern coast of North America, measuring more than 1,500 km in length, including Cape Parry and the Dolphin and Union Strait. In 1848 he journeyed by land along the coast from the mouth of the Mackenzie River to Boothia Peninsula. Richardson was a fellow of the Royal Society (1825).

WORKS

Arctic Searching Expedition, a Journal of a Boat-Voyage Through Rupert’s Land and the Arctic Sea, in Search of the Discovery Ships Under Command of Sir John Franklin. London, 1851.

REFERENCE

Magidovich, I. P. Istoriia otkrytiia i issledovaniia Severnoi Ameriki. Moscow, 1962.