John Cowan (November 12, 1847 – March 24, 1927) was a businessman and politician in Newfoundland. He represented Bonavista in the Newfoundland House of Assembly from 1897 to 1900 as a Conservative.
Business career
Cowan was born on November 12, 1847 in St. John's. He was educated at the General Protestant Academy. He first worked as a draper at the mercantile firm Baird Brothers led by James Baird before becoming a clerk for Harvey & Co. and J. & W. Stewart's. In 1890, he became manager at Stewart's, and he took over the business in 1893 when the Stewart family closed up shop. Cowan was a prominent member of the local freemason lodge. He married Eliza Julia Earle in 1873 and they had several children.
Politics
Cowan was elected to the House of Assembly in 1897 as a Conservative supporter of James S. Winter for the district of Bonavista Bay. When Winter was ousted from office in 1900, Cowan crossed the floor and joined Premier Robert Bond's Liberal caucus. Bond appointed him as the Minister of Finance and Customs in the months before the 1900 general election, but Cowan subsequently lost his seat in that race to Conservative candidate Mark Chaplin.
Cowan was later elected as a St. John's city councillor in the 1906 municipal election, where he served a full term. He remained in St. John's for the rest of his life and died on March 24, 1927.
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