Thomas Bassett Macaulay
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thomas Bassett Macaulay, also known as T. B. Macaulay, (6 June 1860 – 1942) is a noted actuary of his era, a philanthropist; and was the founder of the
Macaulay Institute The Macaulay Institute, formally the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute and sometimes referred to simply as The Macaulay, is a research institute based at Aberdeen in Scotland, which is now part of the James Hutton Institute. Its work covers ...
, in 1930. It has been estimated that most of the world's
Holstein cattle Holstein Friesians (often shortened to Holsteins in North America, while the term Friesians is often used in the UK and Ireland) are a breed of dairy cattle that originated in the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland, and Schleswig-Hols ...
descend from Macaulay's herd.


Background

Thomas Bassett Macaulay was born in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
,
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 ...
, the son of Barbara Marie Reid and the Scottish-born Robertson Macaulay (1833–1915), who emigrated to Canada in 1854. The family were descendants of the
Macaulay family of Lewis The Macaulay family of Uig in Lewis, known in Scottish Gaelic as ''Clann mhic Amhlaigh'', were a small family located around Uig on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. There is no connection between the Macaulays of Lewis and C ...
, and were patrilineal descendants of the 17th century Uig folk-hero Donald Cam Macaulay. Robertson Macaulay married Barbara Marie Reid, and moved his family to
Montreal 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 ...
,
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 ...
, Canada, when he was offered a position there with Sun Life Assurance Company. He joined as a
secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...
in 1874; by 1889, he had worked his way up to
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
.


Life

Thomas Bassett Macaulay graduated
high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
and joined
Sun Life Sun Life Financial Inc. is a Canadian financial services company. It is primarily known as a life insurance company. Sun Life has a presence in investment management with over CAD$1.3 trillion in assets under management operating in a number ...
at the age of 17. For the next 40 years he worked for the company as actuary (aged 20), secretary,
managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
(46), president (55). He served as president for 20 years, before his retirement as chairman. Macaulay was a Fellow of the
Institute of Actuaries The Institute of Actuaries was one of the two professional bodies which represented actuaries in the United Kingdom. The institute was based in England, while the other body, the Faculty of Actuaries, was based in Scotland. While the Institute an ...
of
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
. He was one of four
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
charter members of the Actuarial Society of America. In 1899, he became the first Canadian to be president of the society; as well as its youngest president, at age 39. When he died in 1942, Macaulay was also the longest surviving charter member. Macaulay represented the actuaries of both Canada and the United States at the International Congresses, held in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
and
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, in the years 1900 and 1906. He was also a fellow of the
Royal Statistical Society The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...
, president of the Canadian Life Assurance Officers' Association, and president of the Canadian West Indian League and became an honorary president of the Navy League of Canada. In 1915 he became president of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada. In 1914 he became one of the inaugural
fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...
s of the
American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest continuousl ...
. In 1917, he was the chairman of the National Committee on Food Resources, he also was the governor of the
Montreal General Hospital The Montreal General Hospital (MGH) (french: Hôpital Général de Montréal) is a hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada established in the years 1818-1820. The hospital received its charter in 1823. It is currently part of the McGill University ...
, as well as the Fraser-Hickson Institute public library in Montreal. Macaulay created a fund of £10,000 to assist the seafaring people of his father's hometown,
Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; sco, The Broch or ; gd, A' Bhruaich) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2011 Census at 13,100. It lies at the far northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, about north of Aberdeen, and north of ...
, Scotland. He also gave £10,000 to research into animal breeding at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
. He gave money to the public library on the Isle of Lewis, erected a wing in the Island's hospital and established the Macaulay Experimental Farm. In 1930, he funded the purchase of , to establish the Macaulay Institute for Soil Research. Macaulay received an
honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
from the
University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...
, and
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...
, and the town of Stornoway made him the first freeman of the burgh in 300 years.


Holstein herd

It has been stated that most of the world's pure-bred
Holstein cattle Holstein Friesians (often shortened to Holsteins in North America, while the term Friesians is often used in the UK and Ireland) are a breed of dairy cattle that originated in the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland, and Schleswig-Hols ...
descend from Macaulays herd, raised on his farm in
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 ...
. Macaulay and farm manager, Joe Chandler, bought a bull named "Johanna Rag Apple Pabst" (also known as "Old Joe"), for $15,000. The bull sired 51 bulls and 44 cows; after Macaulay's death in 1942, the herd was dispersed and went on to produce most of the pure-breds in the world. For his work as a breeder and farmer and his devotion to the advancement of agriculture in the province of
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 ...
, Thomas Bassett Macaulay was posthumously inducted to the Agricultural Hall of Fame of Quebec in 1992


Family

In 1881, Macaulay married Henrietta M. L. Bragg, from
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
,
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, United States. Bragg was the niece of US Confederate Army general
Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, serving in the Western ...
. The couple had one son, followed by three daughters, and finally another son. One of their children was Frederick Macaulay, best known for his work on bond durations. Macaulay had two later marriages. In 1912, he married Margaret Allan of
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
; in 1920, he married Margaret Palin of
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, England. He did not have any children in his later two marriages.


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macaulay, Thomas Bassett 1860 births 1942 deaths Canadian actuaries Canadian philanthropists
Thomas Bassett Thomas Basset (died ) was a 12th-century English judge. Life Basset was the son of Gilbert Basset (presumably a son of Ralph Basset, the justiciar). He received a grant of the lordship of Hedendon, Oxfordshire, for services in war, and served a ...
People from Hamilton, Ontario Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Fellows of the American Statistical Association Canadian people of Scottish descent