Donald Matheson Sutherland, Canadian physician and politician, 5th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 1970)
Donald Matheson Sutherland, (December 3, 1879 – June 4, 1970) was a Canadian physician and politician. He ran for public office, as a Laurier Liberal, in the 1917 federal election held as a result of the Conscription Crisis of 1917, but was defeated in the riding of Oxford North.
By 1921, he had changed allegiances to the Conservatives and, in the 1925 general election, won the seat of Oxford North and became a Tory Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada. He was defeated, however, in the 1926 general election which returned the Liberals under William Lyon Mackenzie King to power following the King-Byng Affair.
Sutherland returned to Parliament as a result of the 1930 general election which was won by the Conservatives under R. B. Bennett. Bennett appointed Matheson to Cabinet as Minister of National Defence. In 1934, with the country reeling from the Great Depression, Bennett, as prime minister, instituted his own version of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. He appointed Sutherland as Minister of Pensions and National Health. Bennett's reforms were insufficient to appease an unruly electorate, however, and the Bennett government was defeated in the 1935 general election. Sutherland lost his own parliamentary seat.
1879Dec, 3
Donald Matheson Sutherland
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Events on 1879
- 8Feb
Sydney Riot of 1879
The England cricket team led by Lord Harris is attacked during a riot during a match in Sydney. - 15Feb
Rutherford B. Hayes
Women's rights: US President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. - 5Apr
War of the Pacific
Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru, starting the War of the Pacific. - 21Oct
Incandescent light bulb
Thomas Edison applies for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb. - 22Oct
Thomas Edison
Using a filament of carbonized thread, Thomas Edison tests the first practical electric incandescent light bulb (it lasted 13½ hours before burning out).