Amor De Cosmos Copyright

Cosmos was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, on August 29, 1825, with the name William Alexander Smith. When he was 29 he changed his name to Amor De Cosmos, which means "love of the universe" or "love of order". In 1858 he settled on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. He set up a newspaper called the British Colonist that he used to put forward the ideas of responsible government and Confederation. He was the leader of the pro-Confederation movement in British Columbia.

He was elected to the colony's government and continued to fight for Confederation and responsible government until 1871, when British Columbia finally joined Canada. After Confederation Cosmos became premier, and also sat as member of the federal government in Ottawa. Cosmos was declared "of unsound mind" in 1895. He died two years later. Still, he was one of the most important people in British Columbia in the fight for responsible government and Confederation.