Hugh Graham, 1st Baron Atholstan (July 18, 1848 – January 28, 1938), known as Sir Hugh Graham between 1908 and May 1917, was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

newspaper publisher.

Biography

Born in Athelstan,

Canada East Canada East () was the northeastern portion of the Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new colony, known as the Province of ...

(now Hinchinbrooke,

Huntingdon County Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

), Graham was the son of Robert Walker Graham, a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

land owner, and his wife, Marion Gardner (d.1874), daughter of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Thomas McLeay Gardner (1792-1854), of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and Huntingdon. Maison Lord-Atholstan 02

He was educated at the Huntingdon Academy until the age of fifteen. After terminating school, he served his apprenticeship as office boy and later business manager under his uncle, E. H. Parsons, a journalist, who published the ''Commercial Advertiser'', and afterwards the ''Evening Telegraph'' in Montreal. In 1865, he was appointed Secretary-Treasurer of the Gazette Printing Company. In 1869, along with George T. Lanigan and perhaps journalist Thomas Marshall (his role is disputed), he founded the '' Evening Star'' (later ''

The Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the dominan ...

''), a one-cent daily. At first the ''Stars specialty was sensational news and scandals, and did not win favour with the educated public of Montreal. After it gained good circulation among workers, Graham, with some business ability, gradually changed it into a respected, powerful, and lucrative newspaper. Graham soon acquired full control of the paper. Later Graham founded two weeklies, the '' Family Herald'' and '' Weekly Star'', with a national circulation in rural districts, as well as the ''

Montreal Standard The ''Montreal Standard'', later known as ''The Standard'', was a national weekly pictorial newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, founded by Hugh Graham, 1st Baron Atholstan, Hugh Graham. It operated from 1905 to 1951. History The ''Standard'' ...

'', which catered to Montreal's urban population. He also gained control of the ''

Montreal Herald This is a list of defunct newspapers of Quebec presented in order of first appearance. 1770–1799 * ''La Gazette du commerce et littéraire pour la Ville & District de Montréal'', 1778, Montréal, Fleury Mesplet, printer, and Valentin Jautar ...

'', a liberal daily, and was president of the Montreal Star Publishing Company. Graham's publishing business prospered and he became one of the most powerful media executives in Canada. His newspapers' editorials greatly influenced the federal government's decision in 1900 to send troops to participate in the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

offensive in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

In 1905, Graham expanded his publishing business with the establishing of the ''

'' newspaper. In 1908, he was knighted by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Law (LL.D.) by the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. In May 1917 he was created Baron Atholstan, of Huntingdon in the Province of Quebec in the Dominion of Canada and of the City of Edinburgh, by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

. This granting of a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

title to Graham was the final impetus for the drafting of the

Nickle Resolution The Canadian titles debate originated with the presentation to the House of Commons of Canada of the Nickle Resolution in 1917. This resolution marked the earliest attempt to establish a federal government policy requesting the sovereign, in the r ...

, which requested the Sovereign to cease granting knighthoods and peerage titles to Canadian subjects. On August 9, 1917, Lord Atholstan's country residence was dynamited by radicals opposed to Canada's military conscription—an issue that Graham supported. Hugh Graham funeral monument 2

In 1925, the 77-year-old Lord Atholstan sold his publications to John W. McConnell. In 1936, he donated the Atholstan Trophy, emblematic of

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

supremacy in eastern Canada, and in 1924 the Atholstan Trophy to the Canadian Football (Soccer) Association. Eventually this trophy was awarded to the champions of the National Soccer League of Canada from 1926 to 1941 and then from 1947 to 1950, when it was retired. He died on January 28, 1938.

Personal life

Graham married Annie Beekman Hamilton in 1892, with whom he had a daughter, Alice Hamilton Graham. Because he had no male issue, on his death in 1938 the Barony of Atholstan became extinct. His home in Montreal's

Golden Square Mile The Golden Square Mile (, ), also known as the Square Mile, is the nostalgic name given to an urban neighbourhood developed principally between 1850 and 1930 at the foot of Mount Royal, in the west-central section of downtown Montreal in Quebec, Ca ...

Sherbrooke Street Sherbrooke Street (officially in ) is a major east–west artery and at in length, is the second longest street on the Island of Montreal, Canada. The street begins in the town of Montreal West, Quebec, Montreal West and ends on the extreme ...

was incorporated into the

Maison Alcan Maison Alcan (English: Alcan House) is a building complex located on Sherbrooke Street in the Golden Square Mile district of Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, provin ...

complex in 1983. He is interred with his wife in the

Mount Royal Cemetery Mount Royal Cemetery ( French: Cimetière Mont-Royal) is a terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened in 1852. Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, a Reform Judaism burial ground, ...

in Montreal.

Arms

References

External links

* *
Hugh Graham, 1st Baron Atholstan, and family fonds (R13344)
at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Hugh, 1st Baron Atholstan 1848 births 1938 deaths Atholstan Canadian Knights Bachelor 19th-century Canadian newspaper publishers (people) 20th-century Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Atholstan People from Montérégie Businesspeople from Quebec 19th-century Canadian businesspeople Canadian people of Scottish descent Anglophone Quebec people Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery Barons created by George V Montreal Star people

Biography

Personal life

Arms

See also

References

External links