John Castell Hopkins

John Castell Hopkins (April 1, 1864 – November 5, 1923) was a Canadian journalist, author, and encyclopedist known for his strongly pro-British imperialist views. Over a career spanning three decades, he produced around 40 books and pamphlets on Canadian history and current affairs. Hopkins edited Canada: An Encyclopædia of the Country (1898–1900), the first encyclopaedia of Canada, and was the founding editor of the Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs from 1901 until his death in 1923.

Early life and education Hopkins was born in Dyersville, Iowa, to British parents, and moved as a child with his family to Bowmanville, Ontario, where he was educated.

Personal life In 1906 Hopkins married Annie Beatrice Mary Bonner, a Roman Catholic, in Toronto. The couple had two daughters. Annie assisted her husband with his work on the Annual Review and continued its publication after his death.

Hopkins was active in the Orange Order and the Sons of England benevolent society, served on the council of the British Empire League in Canada, and was a founder of the Empire Club of Canada, where he served as president in 1910–11. He also belonged to the Albany Club, Rosedale Golf Club, and the Royal Canadian Yacht Club. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Statistical Society, and the Royal Society of Literature.

Legacy Hopkins died in Toronto on November 5, 1923. His widow continued to publish the Annual Review until 1936. The series was later revived in 1960. Though his works were often criticized for their lack of polish and deferential tone, the Canadian Annual Review remains a useful reference for researchers. Hopkins is remembered as one of Canada's most prolific imperialist writers and chroniclers of his time.

Selected works Canada and the Empire: A Study of Imperial Federation (1890) Canada and American Aggression (1892) The Maple Leaf and the Union Jack (1892) Life and Work of the Rt. Hon. Sir John Thompson (1895) Queen Victoria: Her Life and Reign (1896; rev. 1901) South Africa and the Boer-British War (1900) Progress of Canada in the Nineteenth Century (1900) The Story of the Dominion (1901) Canada: An Encyclopædia of the Country (editor, 6 vols., 1898–1900) The Origin and History of Empire Day (1910) French Canada and the St. Lawrence (1913) Canada at War, 1914–1918 (1919)