Izaak Walton Killam (July 23, 1885 – August 5, 1955) was a Canadian financier.

Early life

Born in

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Yarmouth is a town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. A port town, industries include fishing, and tourism. It is the terminus of a ferry service to Bar Harbor, Maine, run by Bay Ferries. History Originally inhabited by the Mi'kmaq, the regi ...

, he was the son of William Dudman Killam and Arabella Hunter (Belle) Cann.

Business ventures

As a young banker with the

Union Bank of Halifax The Union Bank of Halifax was granted a charter by the government of Canada in 1856 and established its head office at the corner of Hollis and Prince Streets in the port city of Halifax Urban Area, Halifax, Nova Scotia. The driving force behin ...

, Killam became close friends with John F. Stairs and

Max Aitken William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), generally known as Lord Beaverbrook, was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics o ...

(Lord Beaverbrook) who put Killam in charge of his Royal Securities. In 1919, Killam bought out Aitken and took full control of the company. Killam's business dealings primarily involved the financing of large pulp and paper and hydro-electric projects throughout Canada and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. Killam was believed to be the richest man in Canada at the time. One of his larger projects in his native province was the creation of the Mersey Paper Company Ltd. and its related electrical generating stations and shipping fleet. In 1922 he married Dorothy Brooks Johnston. Notwithstanding his prodigious financial accomplishments, Killam was a very reserved man who eschewed publicity and was virtually unknown outside a small circle of close acquaintances. Killam died in 1955 at his

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

fishing lodge. By then he was considered to be the richest man in Canada. In 1927 Killam acquired

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 and after reorganization it was later sold to the owners of The Globe, who merged it to create

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

in 1936.

Philanthropy

Having no children, Killam and his wife devoted the greater part of their wealth to higher education in Canada.

The Killam Trusts The Killam Trusts were established in 1965 after the death of Mrs. Dorothy J. Killam, the widow of Izaak Walton Killam, a Canadian financier, for a time the wealthiest man in Canada. He died intestate in 1955, but before his death he and his wife ...

, established in the will of Mrs. Killam, are held by five Canadian universities: the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

and

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. The current market value of the Killam endowment is approximately CAD$400 million and it is used to fund scientific research and artistic ventures across Canada. Dalhousie University in Halifax benefited the most, having received a $30 million bequest from Dorothy Killam's estate in 1965 ($214 million in 2011 when adjusted for inflation), representing 32% of her fortune. The Killam Memorial Library constructed between 1966 and 1971 at a cost of $7.3 million ($52 million in 2011) was designed by architect Leslie R. Fairn and remains an enduring legacy to this day. Money from the Killam estate also went to establish Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children in Halifax and the

Montreal Neurological Institute The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC; french: Centre universitaire de santé McGill) is one of two major healthcare networks in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is affiliated with McGill University and is one of the largest medical complex in ...

in Montreal. When Killam died the government honoured his request to use his inheritance taxes and a large donation, coupled with those of Sir James H. Dunn, to establish the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

References

External links

Killam Trusts.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Killam, Izaak Walton 1885 births 1955 deaths People from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

Early life

Business ventures

Philanthropy

References

Further reading

External links