Hugh Richardson, (June 12, 1784 – August 2, 1870) 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 ...

shipowner A ship-owner is the owner of a merchant vessel (commercial ship) and is involved in the shipping industry. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, usually for delivering cargo at a certain frei ...

and captain. Richardson was born in

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 ...

and went to sea at a young age. He and his wife came to Canada in 1821. Soon after his arrival in Canada, Hugh became part of the militia at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

(Toronto), and by 1825 was also beginning his involvement in the shipping business by having the steamer ''Canada'' constructed for the York–Hamilton–Niagara run. It began operation the next year. In the next years his business grew and he also became involved in the improvement of Toronto harbour. By the early 1840s, Richardson's business had expanded further. However, there was hard competition from American interests and a Canadian competitor,

Donald Bethune Donald Bethune (July 11, 1802 – June 19, 1869) was a lawyer, judge, entrepreneur and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Williamstown in Upper Canada in 1802, the son of Reverend John Bethune. Donald was part of a prominent ...

. By 1846, he declared bankruptcy. His assets were sold and he worked in the industry as a captain. Then, in 1850, he became the first

harbourmaster A harbourmaster (or harbormaster, see spelling differences) is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct opera ...

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 ...

. With this appointment, he gained a good salary and important social position. Hugh remained in the position until his death.

References

* Richardson, Hugh Richardson, Hugh Richardson, Hugh British emigrants to Canada {{Canada-business-bio-stub