Robert Stanley Weir

Robert Stanley Weir
Robert Stanley Weir c. 1899
Born	(1856-11-15)November 15, 1856 Hamilton, Canada West
Died	August 20, 1926(1926-08-20) (aged 69) Lac Memphrémagog, Quebec, Canada

Robert Stanley Weir FRSC (November 15, 1856 – August 20, 1926) was a Montreal, Quebec, judge and poet most famous for writing the English lyrics to "O Canada", the national anthem of Canada. He was educated as a teacher and lawyer and considered one of the leading experts of the day on Quebec's municipal civil law. He was appointed a municipal court judge and a judge for the Exchequer Court of Canada.

Weir published several individual poems in magazines and collections in books. His lyrics for the English version of "O Canada" eclipsed many others' lyrical attempts and songs to quickly become the most popular patriotic song in Canada for the past century.

Robert Stanley Weir was born in Hamilton,Canada West, the son of William Park Weir and Helen Craig Smith, who had emigrated from Scotland to Canada in 1852. Weir moved to Montreal, Quebec with his family as an infant, where his father became a Surveyor of Customs in the Port of Montreal. His brother, William Alexander Weir, was born there and would later become a Cabinet Minister in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec.

Weir studied at McGill Normal School, Montreal, and at the age of 19, was appointed principal of Sherbrooke Street School, one of the newest and largest Montreal public schools at the time. He continued his studies at McGill University earning his Bachelor of Civil Law in 1880 and a Doctor of Civil Law in 1897.