Manuscript Collection MS Coll. 00022 - Gilbert Parker Papers

Sir Horatio Gilbert George Parker, 1st Baronet PC, known as Gilbert Parker, was a Canadian novelist, journalist and British politician. He was born at Camden East, Addington, Ontario in 1862 and was trained as a teacher. He worked as a teacher at the Ontario Institute for the Deaf and Dumb in Belleville, Ontario and later as a lecturer at Trinity College before leaving for Australia to become a journalist in 1886. He published his first novel in 1892 and soon gathered a reputation for his romantic fiction, many of which were set in Canada. He was knighted in 1902 for his contribution to Canadian literature. He was elected to the British House of Commons as an MP in 1900, which he held until 1918. Gilbert Parker died in London 6 September 1932 and is buried in Belleville.