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 ...

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.

External links

Biography
at 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

Biography

Philanthropy

See also

External links