Edward Mortimer Archibald

Sir Edward Mortimer Archibald, KCMG (10 May 1810 – 8 February 1884) was a British diplomat, a lawyer and an office holder active during the transition to responsible government in the colony of Newfoundland.

Sir Edward Mortimer Archibald
1863 photograph of Sir Edward M. Archibald by Mathew Brady
Born	(1810-05-10)10 May 1810 Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
Died	8 February 1884(1884-02-08) (aged 73) Steyning, Sussex
Resting place	Brighton Extra Mural Cemetery, Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England
Nationality	British
Occupation(s)	Diplomat, lawyer
Years active	1831–1883
Era	Victorian
Spouse	Catherine Elizabeth Richardson
Children	6, including Edith Archibald
Parents	Samuel George William Archibald (father) Elizabeth Dickson (mother)

Archibald was born in Truro, Nova Scotia, the son of Samuel George William Archibald and Elizabeth Dickson. His father was a lawyer and attorney general for Nova Scotia. Archibald studied law in his father's office and was admitted to the bar of Nova Scotia in early 1831. The following October, Archibald was appointed chief clerk and registrar of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland, replacing his brother in that position. By 1833, Archibald was an acting assistant judge of the Newfoundland Supreme Court. At the same time, he took on the additional job of chief clerk of the Newfoundland General Assembly.

Beginning in 1857, Archibald served as British consul to New York, a position he held for twenty-six years until his retirement on 1 January 1883.[1] From 1871 he also undertook the additional responsibility of acting as British consul-general for New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Archibald married Catherine Elizabeth Richardson, on 10 September 1834 at Truro, Nova Scotia.[2] One of his daughters, Edith Archibald, became a suffragist and writer. Archibald died from pneumonia in Steyning, Sussex[3] and is buried in the Brighton Extra Mural Cemetery.