Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Johnston, James Robinson
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1876-1915
History
James Robinson Johnston was born March 12, 1876 in Halifax, NS. He attended a black segregated school before they were repealed in 1884, and he was able to attend a white school. He went on to do a Bachelor of Letters (Arts) at Dalhousie University in 1896. He then went to Law School at Dal and got his degree in 1898. Johnston was the first black person to earn a degree from Dalhousie, and the first African Nova Scotian to earn a university degree. He started working at John Thomas Bulmer’s law firm, and took it over in 1901 when Bulmer died. Johnston was the only black person practicing law in Nova Scotia before WWI. In 1902 he married his wife Janie. They had one son but he died when he was an infant. Johnston was an organ player at the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church, and an active member of the black community in Halifax. He was on many committees and boards. He was an advocate for education. James Johnston died on March 3, 1915, at 38 years old after being shot and killed by his brother-in-law at home.