Alfred Langley is the only B.C. author ever to be offered a knighthood--and decline it. Born in Lichfield, Staffordshire in 1820, Langley went to Digby Nova Scotia, then onto New York, then onto San Francisco in 1849 where he founded a drug company. He arrived in Victoria in 1858, founded a wholesale drug company and served on the Legislative Council. In 1862 he represented the colony in England and declined knighthood, choosing to return to Victoria in 1863. For six years he advocated non-sectarian schools as a member of the Provincial Board of Education, in keeping with the views of Amor de Cosmos.

BOOKS:

A Glance at British Columbia and Vancouver Island in 1861 (London, Robert Hardwicke, 1862)

[BCBW 2003] "Early B.C." "1850-1900" "Education"