Today's anniversary concerns one of the lesser-known premiers in 20th century Ontario politics.It was on this date in 1948 that Thomas Kennedy, who had first been sent to Queen's Park as an MPP in 1919, assumed office as Premier of Ontario. Kennedy was to hold the province's top political job for only seven months, until a leadership convention could be held to replace George Drew, who had left Queen's Park to become federal Progressive Conservative leader.After the Ontario PC convention was held, Kennedy stepped down and Leslie Frost became Premier.  Wisely, the new Premier kept his predecessor in cabinet and Kennedy remained in the legislature until his death in 1959.  All told, Kennedy served a remarkable 37 years as an Ontario MPP.Being from Scarborough, Ontario, I can't help but note that Kennedy's ancestors were amongst the original non-Indigenous settlers to my hometown.  The city's Kennedy Road is named in their honour.  And, it is important to note that Kennedy served as a mentor to the young man from Brampton, Bill Davis, who would be his successor as Peel's MPP.[caption id="attachment_591390" align="alignleft" width="330"] Former Ontario Premier Thomas Kennedy[/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.