On this date in 1880 George Brown, arguably one of the top three most influential Fathers of Confederation (the others being Macdonald and Cartier), was shot by a disgruntled former employee.  Brown, who had founded the Globe in 1844, was working in his office when he was shot.  Though he survived that day, the famed journalist and politician leader died weeks later, on May 9, 1880, after his wound became infected. His assassin, George Bennett, was tried, convicted and sentenced to a date with the hangman.  He was executed in July of that year. While The Globe was known, as it it still is today, for its strong editorials, Brown always sought to convey the most up-to-date and in-depth news reports, believing that this would ensure it would be a must-read by political opponents, not just those who agreed with his paper's opinion pieces.  Unfortunately, Brown's approach to journalism is one that too few news companies follow today. You can learn more about George Brown and his work for Canada at this entry in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. caption id="attachment_595538" align="alignleft" width="560" Portrait of George Brown/caption   Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist.  He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy.  A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.