James Armstrong Richardson Sr. (August 21, 1885 – June 26, 1939) was an influential business person in Canada in both business and aviation during the early part of the 20th century. He lived most of his life in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Early life

James Armstrong Richardson was born in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

in 1885 to Agnes (McCausland) and George A. Richardson. He attended Queen's and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1906. After graduation, Richardson entered the family business founded by his grandfather,

James Richardson & Sons James Richardson & Sons Limited (JRSL) is a privately-held corporation in Canada that is involved in several industries including agriculture (international grain trade, agribusiness, agri-food), energy, real estate, financial services, invest ...

, at the time, one of Canada's greatest grain exporters.

Business interests

Richardson became vice president of the company in 1912 and its president in 1919; in 1923, he moved the main office of the firm from Kingston to Winnipeg. Richardson quickly rose to prominence in the grain business and was elected President of the

Winnipeg Grain Exchange The Winnipeg Grain Exchange (Known too as ''ICE Futures Canada'') was established in 1887, and dissolved in 1986. It was also the predecessor of the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange. List of presidents :''This table represents the list of presidents ...

. He was recognised as an astute businessman and sat on the

Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of many Canadian companies, including the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

, the

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; french: Banque canadienne impériale de commerce) is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario. ...

, International Nickel, the National Trust Company Limited, the Great West Life Assurance Company, and

Canadian Vickers Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada during the early part of the 20th century until 1944. A subsidiary of Vickers Limited, it built its own aircraft designs as well as others under licence. C ...

Contributions to aviation

Richardson's greatest contributions came as a pioneer of Canadian commercial aviation; he founded

Western Canada Airways Canadian Airways Limited was a Canadian regional passenger and freight air service based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was founded by James Armstrong Richardson Sr. in 1926 as Western Canada Airways (WCA), was fully established in 1930 following ...

in 1926 and helped open up the mineral mining development of the North with his air transport routes. The later company,

Canadian Airways Canadian Airways Limited was a Canadian regional passenger and freight air service based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was founded by James Armstrong Richardson Sr. in 1926 as Western Canada Airways (WCA), was fully established in 1930 following ...

was instrumental in creating a transcontinental air system that was eventually incorporated into the fledgling

Trans-Canada Air Lines Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGrego ...

(that became

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...

). The backroom deals in 1937 that cut Canadian Airways out of the transcontinental routes was said to have "broken his heart". He died two years later. Richardson was the 6th

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of Queen's University, elected in 1929 and he served in this post until his death from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in 1939.

The Richardson legacy

His daughter, Agnes Benidickson, would later become the first female chancellor of Queen's, and his son

James Armstrong Richardson James Armstrong Richardson Jr. (March 28, 1922 – May 17, 2004) was a Canadian Cabinet minister under Pierre Trudeau and a Winnipeg businessman. Early life Richardson was born on March 28, 1922, in Winnipeg, Manitoba to James Armstrong R ...

, would become a

Cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

in the government of

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

. In December 2006, the Winnipeg International Airport was renamed

Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport (commonly known as Winnipeg International Airport or Winnipeg Airport) is a Transport Canada designated international airport located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the seventh b ...

in his honour. The

main stadium Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *" Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centurie ...

at Queen's University is named in honour of his brother, Captain George Taylor Richardson, a Queen's alumnus (BSc 1909) and a valiant soldier who was killed in action in World War I. Today, Richardson & Sons, Limited is a family-owned company that has expanded and developed into an international, multi-enterprise corporation. The firm manages successful operations in agriculture and food processing through

Richardson International Richardson International Limited is a privately held Canadian agricultural and food industry company headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The company is one of several companies that are owned by James Richardson & Sons Limited. The company is ...

, financial services through Richardson Financial Group, property management through Lombard Place Limited, oil and gas exploration through Tundra Oil & Gas Limited, and oil and gas marketing through Kingston Midstream Limited. In 2009, Richardson Partners Financial merged with GMP Private Client to form Richardson GMP, a wealth management and investment services firm.

External links

Richardson presents FDR with an honorary degree, 1938FDR visit to Queen's, 1938

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Render, Shirley. ''Double Cross: The Inside Story of James A. Richardson and the Canadian Airways''. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1999. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, James Armstrong 1885 births 1939 deaths Businesspeople from Ontario Chancellors of Queen's University at Kingston People from Kingston, Ontario Richardson Sr., James Armstrong Canadian people of British descent Royal Canadian Geographical Society fellows Richardson Sr., James Armstrong