John Stewart Donald Tory (1903 – August 28, 1965) was a Canadian lawyer and founder of the law firm

Torys Torys LLP is a Canadian international corporate law firm with offices in Toronto, Calgary, New York, Montreal and Halifax. The firm acts for a wide range of commercial clients and financial institutions in Canada, the United States, and globall ...

, based in

Toronto 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 anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Early life

Tory was born in Toronto to John Alexander Tory Sr. (1869–1950) and Abigail Georgina Buckley (1875–1961). Tory's father was the youngest of three children and was a company director who became the head of the Ontario division of Sun Life Assurance Company. Tory's great-grandfather, James Tory, was a soldier in the 71st Scottish Regiment. He was captured during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

and held as a prisoner of war. He later settled 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 four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

during the 1780s. J.S.D. Tory attended

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...

and the

University of Toronto Schools University of Toronto Schools (UTS) is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school follows a specialized academic curriculum, and admission is determined by competitive ex ...

. He graduated from

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the '' Osgoode Hall L ...

at the top of his class, and he earned a SJD degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Career

Tory was called to the Ontario bar and later worked at the W. N. Tilley law firm in Toronto for a few years. In 1941, he launched his own firm (now known as

Torys LLP Torys LLP is a Canadian international corporate law firm with offices in Toronto, Calgary, New York, Montreal and Halifax. The firm acts for a wide range of commercial clients and financial institutions in Canada, the United States, and glob ...

) with a focus on corporate law. He was also a director of A.V. Roe Canada. A literary award at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

was named in his honour.

Personal life

Tory married Kathreen Jean Arnold. They had three children – daughter Virginia, and fraternal twin sons John A. Tory and James Marshall Tory. Both sons later joined his law firm. His grandson is Toronto mayor

John Tory John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 65th and current mayor of Toronto since 2014. After a career as a lawyer, political strategist and businessman, Tory ran as a mayoral candidate in the 200 ...

, a former

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada ...

leader and member of his grandfather's firm. Tory and Arnold separated when their children were in their twenties.

References

External links

Torys LLP biography of John S. D. Tory
People from Old Toronto John S.D. Lawyers in Ontario 1903 births 1965 deaths Osgoode Hall Law School alumni Harvard Law School alumni Upper Canada College alumni Corporate lawyers 20th-century Canadian lawyers {{Canada-law-bio-stub