Hiram Emerson McCallum (August 14, 1899 – January 13, 1989) was a mayor of

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

from 1948 to 1951. He served in management roles at the

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day, ...

from 1952 to 1964. Born in 1899 at

Caledon East, Ontario Caledon can refer to: South Africa * Caledon, Western Cape, a town in South Africa * Caledon River in South Africa Elsewhere * Caledon, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland * Caledon, Ontario in Canada * Caledon Bay in Arnhem Land, in the Northern Te ...

, his first job was at ''

The Mail and Empire ''The Mail and Empire'' was formed from the 1895 merger of ''The Toronto Mail'' (owned by Charles Alfred Riordan and managed by Christopher W. Bunting) and ''Toronto Empire'' newspapers, both conservative newspapers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It ...

'' newspaper as a clerk in the advertising department. From there, he started his own printing plant in 1931. Concern about pollution in Toronto's Eastern beaches caused McCallum to join a small group of other concerned people. Then in 1941, he became an alderman for Ward 8. From that start, he moved up (in 1946) to vice-chairperson of the city of Toronto's board of control. When then mayor Bob Saunders resigned to become chairman of Ontario Hydro, McCallum became mayor. As mayor he started Toronto's Yonge Street line and worked towards a regional government. Then in 1950, some 10 years after becoming a politician, he opened a new sewage treatment plant that would reduce pollution in Toronto's Eastern Beaches – his original reason for becoming a politician. In 1952 he was made assistant general manager of the

, succeeding as general manager in 1953. This would be a position he would hold until his retirement in 1964 at age 65. He was a member of the

Orange Order in Canada The Grand Orange Lodge of British America, more commonly known as the Grand Orange Lodge of Canada or simply Orange Order in Canada, is the Canadian branch of the Orange Order, a Protestant fraternal organization that began in County Armagh in Ire ...

Personal life

With his wife Margaret he had a daughter Dorothy and a son Bruce, and he was the grandfather of four children. He died at the Guelph General Hospital in 1989."OBITUARY: Hiram Emerson McCallum Mayor changed Toronto's image", ''The Globe and Mail'' oronto, Ont14 Jan 1989: A.11.

References

*''Toronto Star'', January 14, 1989, p. A19 1899 births 1989 deaths Mayors of Toronto People from Caledon, Ontario Toronto city councillors {{Ontario-mayor-stub