George Ryerson Gardiner, (April 25, 1917 – December 7, 1997) was a Toronto businessman, philanthropist and co-founder of the Gardiner Museum, the only museum in Canada devoted exclusively to ceramic art.

Early years

Gardiner was born in Toronto and educated at University of Toronto Schools ('35), the University of Toronto ('39 B.Comm) and Harvard University (MBA).

Early career

George Gardiner began his career running a munitions factory during World War II and later started his stock brokerage firm Gardiner Watson Limited which he sold to

Dean Witter Dean Witter Reynolds was an American stock brokerage and securities firm catering to a variety of clients. Prior to the company's acquisition, it was among the largest firms in the securities industry with over 9,000 account executives (ranking t ...

in 1983. He then opened the first discount brokerage firm in Canada which he sold to TD Bank in 1987. He was also past president of the Toronto Stock Exchange, founder of Gardiner Oil and Gas Ltd. and Scott's Hospitality Inc. which acquired the

Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

rights for Canada in 1962. Following a marriage in which he had three children, he married

Helen Gardiner Helen Elsie Elizabeth Gardiner (née McMinn) (July 18, 1938 – July 22, 2008) was a Canadian philanthropist and co-founder of the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto, Ontario. Biography Helen Gardiner was born in 1938 in the Northern minin ...

and with her co-founded the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Arts in Toronto.

Gardiner Farms

George Gardiner was a major figure in Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing. In the 1950s he established Gardiner Farms, a breeding operation in Caledon East, Ontario. He raced horses in Canada and the United States. Among his notable runners was

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

who raced in the U.S. and who in 1955 set or equaled four course records, including a

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n and World record, and was voted that year's American Champion Male Turf Horse.

Honors

In 1976, Gardiner won a

Sovereign Award for Outstanding Owner The Sovereign Award for Outstanding Owner is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor. Created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada, it is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the most successful owner of Thoroughbred ...

. In 1989 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1990, Gardiner's family endowed a chair in his name at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, dedicated to enhancing the teaching of ethics in management. The first holder of the George R. Gardiner Professorship in Business Ethics, Wesley Cragg was appointed in 1992, and was succeeded in 2007 by Andrew Crane.In 2000, he was inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in the builders category.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardiner, George R. University of Toronto alumni Harvard Business School alumni 1917 births 1997 deaths Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian philanthropists Canadian racehorse owners and breeders Sovereign Award winners Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees Members of the Order of Ontario Officers of the Order of Canada 20th-century philanthropists