Richard Smith (mining engineer)

Richard Smith (January 30, 1783 – July 21, 1868) was an English-born mining engineer, industrialist and politician. He represented Cape Breton County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1833 to 1834.

He was born in Tipton, Staffordshire, the son of Thomas Smith and Mary Morris, and was educated at the Royal School of Mines. In 1811, he married Elizabeth Fereday. Smith and his father-in-law suffered financial losses when the coal and iron market collapsed at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. He subsequently set himself up in business again in London and also managed coal operations in Wales and Portugal. In 1827, Smith was hired to establish coal mining operations in Nova Scotia for the General Mining Association. He established sites at Albion Mines (later Stellarton), Sydney Mines, Bridgeport and Little Bras d'Or. Smith contested a new assembly seat for Cape Breton in a violent election held in 1832 where William Young's supporters intimidated voters at some polls; he was declared elected to the assembly in 1833 after Young's election was overturned. In 1834, he returned to England. Smith managed the mineral holdings of the Earl of Dudley from 1836 to 1864. He died near Lichfield, Staffordshire at the age of 85.

References

• Frank, David (1976). "Richard Smith". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Retrieved 2011-05-15.