Sir Richard John Cartwright (December 4, 1835 – September 24, 1912) was a Canadian businessman and politician. Cartwright was one of Canada's most distinguished federal politicians during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a cabinet minister in five Liberal governments. He served in the Canadian Parliament for 43 years and 5 months, being an MP from 1867 to 1904 then a Senator until his death in 1912. Prior to Confederation, he had served 4 years, 1 month and 15 days in the Legislative Assembly of the old Province of Canada. Thus, he was a legislator for more than 47 and a half years. He was a vigorous and trenchant orator, and was known as 'the Rupert of debate'. In particular, his debates with his Conservative counterpart, Sir George Eulas Foster, are the stuff of Canadian Parliamentary legend. He was a progressive. A free trader, he stood against the Conservatives' high-tariff policy. Often propounding on the inalienable right of Canadian freeman to vote for and in support of their patriotic convictions independent of any party, he favoured proportional representation via Single Transferable Voting. He supported the fight of western farmers for accessible terminal grain elevators in 1910. Early life He was born and raised in Kingston, Ontario in a United Empire Loyalist family, the son of Harriet Dobbs Cartwright and the grandson of Richard Cartwright, a Loyalist who was expelled from the U.S. at the time of the War of Independence. His father, Robert Cartwright, was an Anglican minister. His uncle, John Solomon Cartwright, was his father’s twin brother and a notable businessman, lawyer, banker, and politician, being a member of the last Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada and then a member of the first Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. Richard Cartwright was a major landowner in the area, and became prominent in Kingston's financial community as president of the Commercial Bank of Canada. He suffered a major blow when his bank failed in 1867. Early political career Cartwright entered politics when he was elected as a Conservative Party member and supporter of John A. Macdonald in the Province of Canada's legislative assembly in 1863. In 1867, the Province of Canada became part of the new Canadian Confederation. In 1867, Cartwright was elected to the newly formed House of Commons of Canada, again as a Tory. He was MP for the riding of Lennox, Ontario. Crosses