Commentary
Sir John Sparrow David Thompson (1845–1894) was Sir John A. Macdonald’s most skilled protégé and was prime minister from 1892 to 1894. But he had the tragic honour of being Queen Victoria’s only first minister to drop dead in the royal presence. He was 49, and his embarrassed last words were: “It seems too absurd.”
The sudden blow to Canada and the Empire occurred on the afternoon of Dec. 12, 1894, during a celebratory luncheon in the Octagon Room at Windsor Castle. Thompson had just been sworn in to the Privy Council, an honorary cabinet of imperial statesmen. He was overweight and had been feeling unwell for some time. Moreover, he was just back from a three-week jaunt on the continent. It was during this Roman holiday that, in defiance of doctors’ orders, he fatally over-exerted himself….