John George Howard

John George Howard
John George Howard
Born	July 27, 1803 Bengeo, Hertfordshire, England
Died	February 3, 1890 Colborne Lodge, Toronto, Ontario
Nationality	British
Occupation	Architect
Practice	William Ford
Buildings	Colborne Lodge

John George Howard, (July 27, 1803 – February 3, 1890) born John Corby, was the City of Toronto, Canada's official surveyor and civil engineer. He was also the first professional architect in Toronto, architect of numerous public, commercial and residential buildings in Toronto in the 19th century and the principal donor of High Park to the people of Toronto.

Born John Corby in Bengeo, Hertfordshire, England in 1803, Howard was the fourth of seven children of John and Sarah Corby. He attended a boarding-school in Hertford and spent two years at sea as a sailor before return to England to become a carpenter and joiner. In 1824, he entered the architecture profession, articling for three years to a London architect, William Ford, who became his brother-in-law, marrying Howard's older sister in 1825. Corby remained with Ford until his departure for Canada. In London, Howard met and married his wife 24-year-old Jemima Frances Meikle on May 7, 1827.

In 1832, Corby met Mr. Cattermole of the Canada Land Company, leading to John and Jemima immigrating to Canada in 1832. It was at this time that Howard adopted the Howard surname. He himself gave two explanations. On February 11, 1834, when his change of name was revealed in a court case Howard wrote to Lieutenant Governor Sir John Colborne’s secretary, explaining that he was illegitimate, that when he was about 18 he had adopted the name Corby after the man his mother had subsequently married, and that he had assumed 'his proper name' when he left England. Later in life he claimed direct descent from Thomas Howard, the 4th Duke of Norfolk, through a 17th-century Howard who had adopted the name Corby from the ancestral estate Corby Castle, because of a family quarrel.

John and Jemima remained married until death, however John maintained a lifelong relationship with Mary Williams, with whom he had three children. John and Jemima themselves had no children. In 1877, Jemima died of cancer. Howard lived until 1890, dying at home at Colborne Lodge in High Park.

The Howards are buried in High Park; their cairn monument is near to Colborne Lodge. The monument was designed by Howard. The fence was brought from London, England. It dates to the 1700s and was formerly part of the fence around St. Paul's Cathedral and was designed by Christopher Wren. During its transport from England, the ship carrying the fence sank in the St. Lawrence River and Howard arranged for the fence to be salvaged from the wreck.