Henry Albert Harper
| Henry Albert Harper | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | December 9, 1873 Cookstown, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | December 6, 1901 (aged 27) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto |
| Occupation | journalist, civil servant |
Henry Albert Harper (December 9, 1873 - December 6, 1901) was a Canadian journalist and civil servant. He may be best known as a friend of future Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. Harper is commemorated by a statue on Parliament Hill after his death while trying to save someone from drowning.
Born to Henry and Margaret-Ann Harper in Cookstown, Ontario, Harper moved with his family to Barrie in 1880, where he graduated from Barrie Central Collegiate Institute eleven years later. He attended the University of Toronto where he befriended Mackenzie King, who was a fellow student. After completing his Honours degree in Political Science in 1895, Harper became a journalist in London and Toronto, before eventually becoming the Ottawa correspondent for the Montreal Daily Herald.
In Ottawa, Harper shared an apartment with Mackenzie King, who was then leading the effort to establish the new Department of Labour under the government of Wilfrid Laurier. In 1900 Harper resigned from the Herald, to work for Mackenzie King as the assistant editor of the Labour Gazette, the Department's main publication.
On December 6, 1901, Harper was attending a skating party held on the frozen Ottawa River by the Governor General, the Earl of Minto. Andrew George Blair's daughter Bessie, and Alex Creelman, fell through a patch of weak ice - though Creelman pulled himself to safety, Harper dove into the river to save Blair, and both ultimately drowned. His last words were reportedly "What else can I do?" when their companions tried to dissuade his rescue attempt, another telling says that he quoted Galahad's famous "If I lose myself, I save myself" before jumping into the water. Their bodies were recovered the following day and Harper was buried in Cookstown on December 9.
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