David Breakenridge Read

David Breakenridge Read, born on June thirteenth, eighteen twenty-three in Merrickville, Ontario, was a prominent Canadian lawyer, educator, and writer. He was the sixth child of John Landon Read and Janet Breakenridge. His educational journey began in Brockville, and by the age of thirteen, he was accepted into Upper Canada College in Toronto. In eighteen forty, he was admitted to the Law Society of Upper Canada, marking the start of his legal career.

Read's legal practice flourished after he was called to the bar in eighteen forty-five. He served as a Barrister at Law and quickly gained recognition in his field. His commitment to the legal profession was evident when he was elected a Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada in November eighteen fifty-five. The following year, he was appointed by Attorney General John A. Macdonald to a commission tasked with revising the statutes of Upper Canada, where he served as a junior commissioner and secretary.

In eighteen fifty-eight, Read's political career took a significant turn when he was elected as an alderman for St. Patrick's Ward on Toronto City Council. Following the resignation of Mayor William Henry Boulton, Read was appointed as Mayor of Toronto on November eleventh, eighteen fifty-eight. His tenure, however, was notably brief, lasting only fifty days, making him the shortest-serving mayor in the city's history.

Throughout his life, Read was also a devoted family man, marrying Emily Ballard, with whom he had seven children. He remained active in the Law Society until his retirement in April eighteen eighty-one. Sadly, in November nineteen hundred two, he suffered a stroke that left him bedridden until his passing on May eleventh, nineteen hundred four. He was laid to rest in a private funeral at St. James Cemetery in Toronto, among many of his esteemed colleagues.