Wally Nesbitt

Wallace Bickford (Wally) Nesbitt
Member of Parliament
for Oxford
In office
August 1953 โ€“ December 1973
Personal details
Born(1918-08-07)7 August 1918
Woodstock, Ontario
Died21 December 1973(1973-12-21) (aged 55)
Woodstock, Ontario
Political partyProgressive Conservative
ProfessionBarrister, Lawyer

Wallace Bickford Nesbitt (7 August 1918 โ€“ 21 December 1973) was a Progressive Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in Woodstock, Ontario and became a barrister and lawyer by career.

During World War II, Nesbitt served with the Royal Canadian Navy between 1941 and 1945.[1] After studies at Woodstock Collegiate Institute, the University of Western Ontario and Osgoode Hall Law School, he formally became a lawyer in 1947, then in 1954 was appointed Queen's Counsel.[1][2]

He was first elected at Ontario's Oxford riding in the 1953 general election and was re-elected there for eight successive terms. He attended the 12th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) as the head of the Canadian delegation and in 1959 became first vice-president of that Assembly. Until 1968, Nesbitt continued to represent Canada at the UN.[2]

After a heart attack on 2 December 1973, Nesbitt was treated at Woodstock General Hospital where he died 19 days later, cutting short his political life during the 29th Canadian Parliament.[2][3]

Nesbitt's great-uncle, Edward Walter Nesbitt, was also a member of Parliament for Oxford between 1911 and 1921.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Normandin, Pierre G. (1960). Canadian Parliamentary Guide.
  2. ^ a b c Ontario Genealogical Society, Oxford County Branch (12 January 2002). "Weekly History Quiz, Question #115". Oxford Review. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
  3. ^ a b The Canadian Press (22 December 1973). "Wallace Nesbitt / Oxford Tory served 20 years in Commons". The Globe and Mail. p. 10.