Sir Mortimer Barnett Davis (February 6, 1866 – March 22, 1928) was a
Jewish Canadian
Canadian citizens who follow Judaism as their religion and/or are ethnically Jewish are a part of the greater Jewish diaspora and form the third largest Jewish community in the world, exceeded only by those in Israel and in the United State ...
businessman and philanthropist.
The mansion that he built in Montreal's
Golden Square Mile / ''Mille carré doré''
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = List of neighbourhoods in Montreal, Neighbourhood
, image_skyline = Ravenscrag.jpg
, image_alt =
, image_caption = ''Rave ...
has been renamed ''Purvis Hall'' and is today owned by
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 ...
.
Business career
Born in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
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 ...
, to Samuel Davis and Minnie Falk Davis, he graduated from the
High School of Montreal
The High School of Montreal was an English-language high school founded in 1843, serving Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the area eventually known as the Golden Square Mile. It was less formally known as Montreal High School and from 1853 to 1870 was ...
and then joined his elder brothers Eugene Harmon and Maurice Edward in the family's cigar business, S. Davis and Sons. In 1888, S. Davis and Sons purchased another Montreal firm, D. Ritchie and Company.
In 1895, the
American Tobacco Company
The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company. The company was one of the original 12 members of ...
purchased D. Ritchie and Company, as well as the American Cigarette Company, another Montreal cigarette manufacturer. Samuel Davis retired from S. Davis and Sons, and Mortimer Davis left the family firm, which remained in the hands of two of his brothers, to become president of the American Tobacco Company of Canada.
In 1902, the
British-American Tobacco Company Limited was formed by the merger of the American Tobacco Company and the
Imperial Tobacco Company
Imperial Brands plc (formerly Imperial Tobacco Group plc), is a British multinational tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, England. It is the world's fourth-largest international cigarette company measured by market share after Philip Mor ...
of England. It later purchased the American Tobacco Company of Canada, which became the
Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada Ltd., and Mortimer Davis was its first president. The financial power of the empire over which he presided earned him the title of "Tobacco King," which he shares with his great rival, Sir
William Christopher Macdonald
Sir William Christopher Macdonald (10 February 1831 – 9 June 1917) was a Canadian tobacco manufacturer and major education philanthropist in Canada. Though born in Prince Edward island, he is considered a Scots-Quebecer.
Early life and ca ...
.
In 1917, he was
knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
by King
George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936.
Born duri ...
, becoming the first Canadian-born Jew to receive such an honour.
Davis was a director of many companies, including the Union Bank,
Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000& ...
,
Henry Corby
Henry Corby (1806 – 25 October 1881) was an Ontario baker, businessman, and politician. Born and raised in England, Corby immigrated to Upper Canada in 1832. After building businesses in Belleville, Ontario, he served as the 9th mayor of Bell ...
distillery
Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...
(he served as president from 1907 to 1922),
Crown Trust
The Crown Trust Company was an Ontario-based firm that operated in most of Canada prior to its bankruptcy, along with several other trusts, in 1983. The bankruptcies occurred when a major Canadian recession drove down speculative real estate val ...
Company, Empire Tobacco, and part of the senior management of the Nova Scotia Silver Cobalt Mining Company and the Consolidated Asbestos Mining Company. In addition, he was a member of the
Montreal Board of Trade
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...
and the
Montreal Stock Exchange
The Montreal Exchange (MX; french: Bourse de Montréal), formerly the Montreal Stock Exchange (MSE), is a derivatives exchange, located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that trades futures contracts and option (finance), options on equities, indices, c ...
.
Personal life
On June 12, 1898, in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, Davis married
Henriette Marie Meyer, daughter of Charles Meyer, a banker and philanthropist. Their only son, Mortimer Davis, junior, died in 1940.
[ (page 4)]
Davis was a member of Temple Emanu-El (see
Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom (Westmount, Quebec)
Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, Westmount (french: Synagogue Emanu-El-Beth Sholom de Westmount) is a Reform synagogue in Westmount, Quebec. It is the oldest “Liberal” or
“Reform” synagogue in Canada, incorporated on March 30, 1883 (the Bi ...
), which his father had helped to establish. He underwrote the entire $420,000 of a new YMHA (see
Federation CJA
Federation CJA is a Canadian Jewish organization that raises and distributes funds by facilitating and overseeing the delivery of services and programs.
*
History
Federation CJA is one of the oldest Canadian Jewish organizations. CJA was founde ...
) building, which opened at Mount Royal, near Park Avenue, shortly after his death. He was a key force in building the Mount Sinai Sanatarium, in Préfontaine.
In 1924, Davis divorced his wife in order to marry Eleanor Curran (d. 1963).
[ He spent many of the final years of his life at ''Les Glaïeuls'', his villa in ]Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
, where he died in 1928.
He is interred within Mount Royal Cemetery
Opened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, a Reform Judaism burial ground, is within the Mount Royal grounds. Th ...
in Montreal. His former residence in the Golden Square Mile / ''Mille carré doré''
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = List of neighbourhoods in Montreal, Neighbourhood
, image_skyline = Ravenscrag.jpg
, image_alt =
, image_caption = ''Rave ...
(formerly called ''Sir Mortimer B. Davis House'') is now known as ''Purvis Hall'', on the grounds of 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 ...
.
Following his death, a dispute arose about the execution of his will. His widow, who was one of the executors, and his son together sued to have the other two executors, Lord Shaughnessy and A.M. Reaper, removed on the basis of fraud. The litigation was extensive, ultimately being decided in favour of Shaugnessy and Reaper by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...
, at that time the highest court in the British Empire, including Canada.
Davis left 75% of his estate to be used for the construction of a Jewish public hospital in Montreal that would bear his name. However, he stipulated that the funds be invested for 50 years to allow them to reach a sum capable of funding a sizable hospital. And so it was that in 1978, $10 million from his estate was donated to the existing Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, which was renamed the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital
The Jewish General Hospital (JGH; french: Hôpital général juif), known officially as the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital (french: Hôpital général juif Sir Mortimer B. Davis) since 1978, is an acute-care teaching hospital in M ...
.
His first wife was an active philanthropist and was made an officer of the Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
and Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
. She died in 1963. The Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research
The Jewish General Hospital (JGH; french: Hôpital général juif), known officially as the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital (french: Hôpital général juif Sir Mortimer B. Davis) since 1978, is an acute-care teaching hospital in M ...
, the Lady Davis Fellows
The Lady Davis Fellow is a program of The Lady Davis Foundation for the scholars to carry out research in various areas on the campuses of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in Israel. The Lady Dav ...
hip, the Lady Davis Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering Center (a 7-storey low-rise building of the Technion in Haifa), the Lady Davis Building (the main building of the National Library of Israel
The National Library of Israel (NLI; he, הספרייה הלאומית, translit=HaSifria HaLeumit; ar, المكتبة الوطنية في إسرائيل), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; he, בית הספרים הלא ...
in Jerusalem) and the Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center in Haifa, Israel are named in her honour.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Mortimer
1866 births
1928 deaths
Anglophone Quebec people
Businesspeople from Montreal
Businesspeople in the tobacco industry
Canadian expatriates in France
Canadian Knights Bachelor
High School of Montreal alumni
Jewish Canadian philanthropists
Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery