Sir William James Gage (September 16, 1849 – January 14, 1921) was a Canadian educator, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

Life and career

Gage was born in Toronto Township,

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

, the son of Andrew Albert Gage and Mary Jane Grafton. He was educated in

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it ...

and at the

Toronto Normal School The Toronto Normal School was a teachers college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1847, the Normal School was located at Church and Gould streets in central Toronto (after 1852), and was a predecessor to the current Ontario Institute for ...

. Gage taught for three years and then briefly studied medicine. He was hired as a bookkeeper by publisher Adam Miller and Company. After Miller's death in 1875, Gage became a partner in the business. In 1879, the firm was renamed W.J. Gage & Co. The company mainly specialized in textbooks but also sold writing paper and envelopes. In 1880, he married Ina Burnside. Gage was one of the founders of the National Sanitarium Association and established several treatment facilities to combat

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. From 1893 to 1895, Gage was one of the owners of the Toronto Evening Star. He helped form the Ontario Associated Boards of Trade and served as its first president. He was head of a group that opposed street car service on Sundays. He also lobbied for the development of Toronto's waterfront. Gage was a director for the

Imperial Bank of Canada The Imperial Bank of Canada was a Canadian bank based in Toronto, Ontario, during the late 19th century and early 20th century. History It was founded in 1873 as the Imperial Bank in Toronto by Henry Stark Howland, former vice president of the C ...

, Traders' Bank of Canada, Ontario Sugar Company and the Anglo-American Fire Insurance Company. He was also chairman of the Toronto branch of the

Victorian Order of Nurses The Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) has been leading home and community care in Canada for over a century. Today, VON provides home and community support services to over 10,000 people every day across Ontario and Nova Scotia. It is registered as a ...

. Gage was knighted in 1917. Gage donated land to the city of Brampton for use as a public park; it is now part of Gage Park. He died at his estate in Toronto at the age of 71 after suffering a stroke.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gage, William James 1849 births 1921 deaths Canadian book publishers (people) Canadian philanthropists Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Businesspeople from Toronto