James Armstrong Richardson Sr. (August 21, 1885 – June 26, 1939) was an influential business person in Canada in both business and aviation during the early part of the 20th century. He lived most of his life in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Early life

James Armstrong Richardson was born in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

in 1885 to Agnes (McCausland) and George A. Richardson. He attended Queen's and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1906. After graduation, Richardson entered the family business founded by his grandfather,

James Richardson & Sons James Richardson & Sons Limited (JRSL) is a privately-held corporation in Canada that is involved in several industries including agriculture (international grain trade, agribusiness, agri-food), energy, real estate, financial services, inves ...

, at the time, one of Canada's greatest grain exporters.

Business interests

Richardson became vice president of the company in 1912 and its president in 1919; in 1923, he moved the main office of the firm from Kingston to Winnipeg. Richardson quickly rose to prominence in the grain business and was elected President of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange. He was recognised as an astute businessman and sat on the

Board of Directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of many Canadian companies, including the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

, the

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; ) is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District, Toronto, Financial District of Toronto, Ont ...

, International Nickel, the National Trust Company Limited, the Great West Life Assurance Company, and

Canadian Vickers Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada from 1911 until 1944. A subsidiary of Vickers Limited, it built its own aircraft designs as well as others under licence. Canadair absorbed the Canadian Vi ...

Contributions to aviation

Richardson's greatest contributions came as a pioneer of Canadian commercial aviation; he founded

Western Canada Airways Canadian Airways Limited was a Canadian regional passenger and freight air service based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was founded by James Armstrong Richardson Sr. in 1926 as Western Canada Airways (WCA), was fully established in 1930 following ...

in 1926 and helped open up the mineral mining development of the North with his air transport routes. The later company,

Canadian Airways Canadian Airways Limited was a Canadian regional passenger and freight air service based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was founded by James Armstrong Richardson Sr. in 1926 as Western Canada Airways (WCA), was fully established in 1930 following ...

was instrumental in creating a transcontinental air system that was eventually incorporated into the fledgling

Trans-Canada Air Lines Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGregor. ...

(that became

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...

). The backroom deals in 1937 that cut Canadian Airways out of the transcontinental routes was said to have "broken his heart". He died two years later. Richardson was the 6th

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of Queen's University, elected in 1929 and he served in this post until his death from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in 1939.

The Richardson legacy

His daughter,

Agnes Benidickson Agnes McCausland Benidickson (''née'' Richardson; August 19, 1920 – March 23, 2007) was the first female chancellor of Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada, from 1980 to 1996. Queen's highest honour for student service to the Univ ...

, would later become the first female chancellor of Queen's, and his son

James Armstrong Richardson James Armstrong Richardson, Jr. (March 28, 1922 – May 17, 2004) was a Canadian Cabinet minister under Pierre Trudeau and a Winnipeg businessman. Early life Richardson was born on March 28, 1922, in Winnipeg, Manitoba to James Armstrong Ri ...

, would become a

Cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in the government of

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

. In December 2006, the Winnipeg International Airport was renamed

Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport (commonly known as Winnipeg International Airport or Winnipeg Airport) is an international airport located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the seventh busiest airport in Canada ...

in his honour. The main stadium at Queen's University is named in honour of his brother, Captain George Taylor Richardson, a Queen's alumnus (BSc 1909) and a valiant soldier who was killed in action in World War I. Today, Richardson & Sons, Limited is a family-owned company that has expanded and developed into an international, multi-enterprise corporation. The firm manages successful operations in agriculture and food processing through Richardson International, financial services through Richardson Financial Group, property management through Lombard Place Limited, oil and gas exploration through Tundra Oil & Gas Limited, and oil and gas marketing through Kingston Midstream Limited. In 2009, Richardson Partners Financial merged with GMP Private Client to form Richardson GMP, a wealth management and investment services firm.

External links

Richardson presents FDR with an honorary degree, 1938FDR visit to Queen's, 1938

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Render, Shirley. ''Double Cross: The Inside Story of James A. Richardson and the Canadian Airways''. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1999. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, James Armstrong 1885 births 1939 deaths Businesspeople from Ontario Chancellors of Queen's University at Kingston People from Kingston, Ontario Richardson Sr., James Armstrong Canadian people of British descent Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society Richardson Sr., James Armstrong