Frank Ray Lawson (August 30, 1886 – April 4, 1980), was the
17th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province bu ...
, Canada, from 1946 to 1952.
Born in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, Ontario, he was the son of Francis Edgar ("Frank") Lawson, a former newspaper reporter, and Lorena Hodgins, a former teacher. He studied at London Collegiate and attended Woodstock College in 1902, but left after less than a year, eager to begin a business career. At age 17, he began working as a clerk in a London
dry goods
Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and forme ...
business, and later worked as a traveling salesman for a wholesale jeweler, before becoming a traveling salesman for Lawson & Jones Limited, the printing firm co-founded by his father. In 1909 he married Helen Newton and they later had five children.
In 1911, following the sudden death of his father, Lawson returned to London and assumed his father's position with Lawson & Jones. In 1913, he borrowed heavily to purchase the shares held by the Jones family and, at the age of 26, became the company's president, director and major shareholder. In addition to printing druggists' labels and calendars, in 1916 Lawson & Jones entered into a profitable arrangement to manufacture cigarette packaging for Imperial Tobacco. By 1920, Lawson had retired the debt he incurred and throughout the depression the company grew by acquiring and consolidating other printing concerns.
When war broke out in 1939, Lawson went to work for C.D. Howe, Canadian Federal Minister of Munitions and Supply, as a "dollar-a-year-man", and was appointed president of Federal Aircraft Limited, a crown corporation established in Montreal to manufacture the
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...
trainer for the
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zea ...
. He was named an Officer of the Order of the British empire in 1942.
During his career, Lawson was a senior executive or director of 20 Canadian companies, including: president, Lawson & Jones Ltd., president, Canadian Containers; president, Midland Securities, Ltd.; vice-president and director, The Royal Bank of Canada; director, Traders Finance Corporation Limited; director, London & Western Trust Co. Ltd.; vice-president and director, Canada Trust Company Ltd.; director, Huron & Erie Loan and Savings Company; director, Northern Life Assurance Co. of Canada; director, Toronto General Insurance; director, Great Lakes Paper. Eight universities conferred honorary degrees on him.
![Official launch of the first Pile for the TTC's first subway, 1949-9-6](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Official_launch_of_the_first_Pile_for_the_TTC%27s_first_subway%2C_1949-9-6.jpg)
Ray Lawson was Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1946 to 1952. He was later Canadian
Consul-General
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
from 1953 to 1955. From 1948 to 1956, he was the Chancellor of
University of King's College
The University of King's College, established in 1789, is in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and Nova Scotian Higher Education in the Nineteenth Century." Anglic ...
, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
In 1947, Lawson purchased the Oakville lakeshore estate, “Ballymena” that was previously owned by William Fletcher Eaton, to have a suitable residence close to Toronto and for use in his capacity as Lieutenant Governor. It became his permanent home.
Lawson was an active philanthropist most of his life, having sponsored the building of a library at the University of Western Ontario as early as 1933, and over the years creating various scholarships, trusts and contributing to charitable societies. In 1956, he established the Lawson Foundation, with assets of $2,000,000. The Foundation has since donated over $50 million to charities across Canada and in 2005 had an endowment of over $90 million.
Ray Lawson died in 1980 and was buried at Woodland Cemetery, London, Ontario.
His descendants currently reside all over the world, including Australia, Japan and South Africa. They continue to participate in and volunteer with the Lawson Foundation.
Has a street and public elementary school named after him in Brampton, ON and a street in Montreal, QC (Anjou borough).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Ray
1886 births
1980 deaths
Canadian Anglicans
Canadian university and college chancellors
Lieutenant Governors of Ontario
Politicians from London, Ontario
Canadian Officers of the Order of the British Empire