John Sparrow David Thompson

The Right Honourable Sir John Sparrow David Thompson PC KCMG QC
Thompson in 1891
4th Prime Minister of Canada
In office December 5, 1892 – December 12, 1894
Monarch	Victoria
Governors General	The Lord Stanley of Preston The Earl of Aberdeen
Preceded by	John Abbott
Succeeded by	Mackenzie Bowell
5th Premier of Nova Scotia
In office May 25, 1882 – July 18, 1882
Monarch	Victoria
Lieutenant Governor	Adams George Archibald
Preceded by	Simon Hugh Holmes
Succeeded by	William Thomas Pipes
MLA for Antigonish County
In office December 4, 1877 – July 27, 1882 Serving with Daniel MacDonald, Angus McGillivray
Preceded by	John J. McKinnon
Succeeded by	Charles B. Whidden
Member of Parliament for Antigonish
In office October 16, 1885 – December 12, 1894
Preceded by	Angus McIsaac
Succeeded by	Colin Francis McIsaac
Personal details
Born	(1845-11-10)November 10, 1845 Halifax, Nova Scotia
Died	December 12, 1894(1894-12-12) (aged 49) Windsor, Berkshire, England
Cause of death	Heart attack
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery, Halifax
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Annie Affleck ​ (m. 1870)​
Children	9
Signature

Sir John Sparrow David Thompson PC KCMG QC (November 10, 1845 – December 12, 1894) was a Canadian lawyer, judge and politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Canada from 1892 until his death. He had previously been fifth premier of Nova Scotia for a brief period in 1882.

Thompson was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He trained as a lawyer and was called to the bar in 1865. Thompson was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1877 as a representative of the Conservative Party. He became the provincial attorney general the following year, in Simon Holmes' government, replaced Holmes as premier in 1882. However, he served for only two months before losing the 1882 general election to the Liberal Party. After losing the premiership, he accepted an appointment to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

In 1885, Thompson entered federal politics at the personal request of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, becoming Minister of Justice. In that role he was the driving force behind the enactment of the Criminal Code. Thompson became prime minister in 1892, following the retirement of John Abbott. He was the first Roman Catholic to hold the position. On a trip to England in 1894, Thompson unexpectedly suffered a heart attack and died, aged 49. He is the second and most recent Canadian prime minister to have died in office, after John A. Macdonald.