Arthur Rankin

Arthur Rankin (1816 – March 13, 1893) was a surveyor, entrepreneur and political figure in Canada West. Rankin was born in Montreal in 1816, the son of Irish immigrants. He ran away from home and became a cabin boy. In 1835, he returned to Canada, then qualified as a surveyor and moved to the Windsor area. In 1837, he smuggled an escaped slave from Ohio to Upper Canada. He served in the militia during the 1837 Rebellions. In 1843, with nine Ojibwas, he toured Britain with a "wild west show" that appeared before Queen Victoria. In 1844, he returned to Canada. In 1846, he discovered a large copper deposit at Bruce Mines; he sold his share to a mining company in Montreal. In 1851, he ran for a seat in the Legislative Assembly in Kent but was defeated by George Brown. He was elected to the 5th Parliament of the Province of Canada in Essex in 1854. He was implicated in an 1857 scandal involvi...