J.W. McConnell : financier, philanthropist, patriot / William Fong.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fong, William Jesse, 1948-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

McConnell, J. W. (John Wilson), 1877-1963.

McConnell, J. W.

Philanthropists--Canada--Biography.

Philanthropists.

Businessmen--Canada--Biography.

Businessmen.

Capitalists and financiers--Canada--Biography.

Capitalists and financiers.

Directors of corporations--Canada--Biography.

Directors of corporations.

Montréal (Québec)--Biography.

Montréal (Québec).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (756 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

J.W. McConnell (1877-1963), born to a poor farming family in Ontario, became one of the wealthiest and most powerful businessmen of his generation - in Canada and internationally. Early in his career McConnell established the Montreal office of the Standard Chemical Company and began selling bonds and shares in both North America and Europe, establishing relationships that would lead to his enormous financial success. He was involved in numerous businesses, from tramways to ladies' fashion to mining, and served on the boards of several corporations. For nearly fifty years he was president of St Laurence Sugar and late in life he became the owner and publisher of the Montreal Star. McConnell was an indefatigable and formidable fundraiser for the YMCA, the war effort of 1914/18, hospitals, and McGill University, where he served as governor for almost three decades. In 1937 he established what would become The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, the first major foundation in Canada and still one of the best endowed. J.W. McConnell was a principled and brilliant visionary with a strong work ethic and a deep commitment to the public good, a Rockefellerian figure in both big business and high society who quietly became one of the greatest philanthropists of his time. His life story - told in uncompromising detail by William Fong - is a study of raising, spending, and giving away money on the grandest scale.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

A Boyhood in Muskoka: Blood, Religion, Sentiment, and Community, 1877–91

Onward, Ever Onward, Jack: Toronto and the Making of a Man, 1892–99

Selling Wood Products and Settling Down, 1899–1907

Partner, Promoter, and Believer, 1907–14

Bittersweet: St Lawrence Sugar and Regulation, 1912–63

Keep the Home Fires Burning: Fundraising for the ymca in Peace and for Canada in the Great War, 1909–19

Developing and Financing Tramways and Electricity, 1890–1925

The Rise and Fall of Holding Companies for Power and Paper, 1925–39

Almost a Jack of All Trades, 1911–39

Insecurities: McConnell’s Investments, 1921–39

Wider, Ever Wider Shall Thy Bounds Be Set: Social Life in Montreal, 1901–63

For King and Empire, 1927–39

Faith and Works: From Charity to Social Welfare and from Fundraising to Philanthropy, 1922–45

There’ll Always Be an England:The Second World War, 1939–45

The Dilemma of Conservative Politics, 1911–63

Press Barons, Publishers, and Editors: The Montreal Daily Star and Other Newspapers, 1925–53

Grandescunt Aucta Labore: Building McGill University for the Future, 1920–63

We Give Thee but Thine Own: The Making of the McConnell Foundation, 1928–63

Keep Right on to the End of the Road, 1945–63

J.W. McConnell’s Investment Holdings: An Overview, 1921–51

A Glimpse of the Interconnectedness of McConnell’s Circle

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [685]-711) and index.

ISBN:

9786612864582

9780773577800

0773577807

9781282864580

1282864580

9780773574687

0773574689

OCLC:

753362551