William McMaster (24 December 1811 – 22 September 1887) was a
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 ...
wholesaler,
senator and banker in the 19th century. A director of the
Bank of Montreal from 1864 to 1867, he was a driving force behind the creation of the
Canadian Bank of Commerce
The Canadian Bank of Commerce was a Canadian bank which was founded in 1867, and had hundreds of branches throughout Canada. It merged in 1961 with the Imperial Bank of Canada to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
History
In 1866 a ...
of which he was the founding president from 1867 to his death in 1887.
He sat in the
Senate of Canada from 1867 to 1887 as a
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
. He also helped found
McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
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 ...
(later moved to
Hamilton),
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 ...
.
Biography
Born in
County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, McMaster migrated to
York, Upper Canada
York was a town and second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for the capital of ...
, (now Toronto) in 1833. He was married for the first time to Mary Henderson (18??–1869) of New York. He married a second time on 18 July 1871, to Susan Fraser (née Moulton), the widow of an American businessman.
He died in 1887 and is buried in
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a cemetery located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries. It was opened in November 1876 and is located north of Moore Park, a neighbourhood of Toronto. The cemetery has k ...
.
Philanthropy
McMaster supported a number of causes with large donations. As a member of
Bond Street Baptist Church, McMaster helped to finance its building of larger facilities at
Jarvis Street Baptist Church
The Jarvis Street Baptist Church is a Baptist church located at the intersection of Gerrard Street and Jarvis Street in downtown Toronto. One of the oldest churches in the city, its congregation was founded in 1818, and the present church construc ...
. He also helped to finance
Beverley Street Baptist Church, which is now
Toronto Chinese Baptist Church, and a number of other Baptist churches in the Toronto area as well as the building of Toronto Baptist College in McMaster Hall on Bloor Street, later renamed McMaster University and funded by a large endowment upon his death. Through his wife, financing was also provided for the
Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
See also
*
Elizabeth McMaster
External links
Biographyat the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McMaster, William
Canadian bank presidents
Canadian Baptists
Canadian philanthropists
Canadian senators from Ontario
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Liberal Party of Canada senators
McMaster University
Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
People from County Tyrone
People from Old Toronto
Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent
1811 births
1887 deaths
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Canadian company founders
Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario
Immigrants to Upper Canada
19th-century philanthropists
19th-century Baptists