John Redpath (1796–March 5, 1869) was a Scots-Quebecer businessman and philanthropist who helped pioneer the industrial movement that made Montreal, Quebec the largest and most prosperous city in Canada. 1796 was a leap year starting on Friday. ... March 5 is the 64th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (65th in leap years). ... 1869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article needs cleanup. ... This article describes the Canadian province. ... Canada is a sovereign state in northern North America, the northern-most country in the world, and the second largest in total area. ...

John Redpath

John Redpath was born in Earlston, Berwickshire, Scotland during the period of the Lowland Clearances that created economic hardship and dislocation for many Scottish families. As such, the twenty-year-old Redpath chose to emigrate to Canada. With limited funds for ship passage, the near penniless Redpath disembarked at Quebec City then walked barefoot to Montreal, then a city of only 16,000 residents. Once there, he found employment in the construction industry, working as a stonemason. In November of that year, Redpath witnessed the first installation of oil streetlamps in the city on rue St. Paul. Berwickshire is a traditional county of Scotland, on the border with England. ... Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is a country or nation and former independent kingdom of northwest Europe, and one of the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom. ... The Lowland Clearances in Scotland were one of the results of the Agricultural Revolution, which changed the traditional system of agriculture which had existed in Lowland Scotland for hundreds of years. ... Motto: Don de Dieu feray valoir (Gift of God shall make prosper) Area: 547. ... The London Guild of Masons was formed in 1356. ...

A man of integrity with a prodigious work ethic and a keen business sense, within a few years John Redpath was running his own sizeable construction business. He was involved in major projects such as the construction of the Lachine Canal and locks that proved key to future commercial development of the city of Montreal. Beginning in 1689, attempts were made by the French Colonial government and several others to build a canal that would allow ships to bypass the treacherous Lachine Rapids. After more than 130 years of failure, with funding from the recently formed Bank of Montreal, the consortium, of which Redpath was a major part, was successful in its construction and the new canal officially opened in 1825. The Lachine Canal in 1920 The Lachine Canal is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, through the boroughs of Lachine on land originally granted by the King of France to the Sulpician Order. ... -1... The Lachine Rapids are a series of rapids on the Saint Lawrence River, between the Island of Montreal and the south shore. ... BMO Bank of Montreal, formerly known as simply Bank of Montreal, is Canadas oldest chartered bank. ...

The Lachine canal substantially increased shipping, turning Montreal into one of the largest ports in North America. Because the land along the canal belonged to the Roman Catholic Sulpician Order it remained unused for another twenty years until Redpath and other businessmen were finally able to purchase plots along the canal. As a result of the land being opened to development, on the canal's banks came the construction of large new manufacturing plants, drawn there because of the ready source of water from the canal that could be used in the production process and provide the steam power to drive machinery. It was these industries, including Redpath's construction of the first sugar refinery in Canada, that made Montreal the industrial metropolis of Canada and by the time of his passing, John Redpath witnessed traffic go from 600 small vessels passing through the canal each year to more than 13,000 large ships. World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

John Redpath's success in building the Lachine Canal led to further major projects including his partnering with Thomas McKay, to construct the locks at Jones Falls, Ontario on the giant Rideau Canal project between 1827 and 1828. In addition, Redpath built the Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica plus some of the first buildings at McGill University. A portion of the worlds largest skating rink The Rideau Canal, also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. ... McGill University Grandescunt aucta labore (By work, all things increase and grow) Shield image © McGill University McGill University is a co-educational, non-denominational university located in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ...

The Redpath Sugar refinery proved to be a major Montreal employer, within a few years annually processing approximately 7,000 tons of raw sugar imported from the West Indies aboard Redpath-owned ships. Originally called the Canada Sugar Refining Co., after his son Peter (1821-1894) joined the business the company's name was changed to John Redpath & Son. Four years later in 1861, Redpath's son-in-law George Alexander Drummond (1829-1910) also joined the company. The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ...

John Redpath's sugar refinery

In addition to his own industrial enterprises, John Redpath invested in numerous businesses that greatly benefited the Montreal economy. In addition to his own cargo vessels to serve his sugar refinery, he had investments in the Montreal Towboat Company plus he helped finance the Montreal Telegraph Company and the Montreal Fire Assurance Company, serving as a director of both companies. He also committed substantial funds to develop the economies of Quebec's Eastern Townships including investments in the Capel Copper operations, the Belvedere Mining and Smelting Company, Rockland Slate Company, Bear Creek Coal, and Melbourne Slate Co. The Eastern Townships (les Cantons de lest in French) is a region in south central Quebec, lying between the Saint Lawrence River and the US border. ...

As a result of his business acumen, in 1833 John Redpath was invited to serve on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Montreal, a position he would hold for thirty-six years. Canada has always had a very small population and in the developing years of the early 1800s, that small population meant there was limited financial resources for business to draw upon. Because major business development was still dependent upon funding from the London (UK) financial market, John Redpath understood the need for Canada to begin the long process of developing its own capital markets. As such, he was a promoter of the Montreal Investment Association, the forerunner of the Montreal Stock Exchange. Too, coming from the Scottish working class Redpath had an inherent mistrust of the aristocratic power structure in England and did not view England as the mother country as other Canadians such as Robert Baldwin did. Numerous complaints by business officials in the Canadian colony were ignored by the British authorities and the situation became intolerable when the government in London decided to abolish tariffs that protected Lower Canada producers from the established and well-financed British companies. Understanding that fighting these powerful forces in Britain was costly and near impossible, along with other businessmen who had invested in Canada, Redpath lent his support to the Annexation Movement in Canada in an effort to leverage the situation. This group promoted the idea of the Canadian Provinces joining the United States, an idea that had been touted on prior occasions. It had been unfair taxes and tariffs that led to the American Revolution and while the Annexation Movement was short-lived, the growing support for such an idea, particularly from powerful men like Redpath, John Molson, Louis-Joseph Papineau, and Alexander Galt, caused the British authorities to make changes that resulted in the Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty of 1854. London — containing the City of London — is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England and a major world city. With over seven million inhabitants (Londoners) in Greater London area, it is amongst the most densely populated areas in Western Europe. ... The Bourse de Montréal (Montreal Stock Exchange) began in 1832 as an informal stock exchange at the Exchange Coffee House in Montreal, Canada. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Official language None; English is de facto Capital London Capitals coordinates 51° 30 N, 0° 10 W Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831... Robert Baldwin (12 May 1804 – 9 December 1858), Canadian statesman, was born at York (now Toronto). ... Lower Canada was a British colony in North America, at the downstream end of the Saint Lawrence River in the southern portion of the modern-day province of Quebec. ... The Montreal Annexation Manifesto was a political document, published in 1849 in Montreal, Quebec, calling for Canadas annexation by the United States. ... Before the Revolution: The 13 colonies are in red, the pink area was claimed by Great Britain after the French and Indian War, and the orange region was claimed by Spain. ... Categories: Canadian people stubs | 1763 births | 1836 deaths | Early Canadian business leaders | Molson family | Important people in rail transport | People from Quebec | Canadian history | Canadian historical figures ... Portrait of Louis-Joseph Papineau. ... Alexander Tilloch Galt Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt (September 6, 1822-September 19, 1911) was an English-born Canadian politician, and a father of Canadian Confederation. ... The Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty was a trade treaty between the colonies of British North America and the United States. ...

Beyond business, charity and community service played a large role in John Redpath's life. He was elected to the Montreal City council and was a director of such charitable institutions as the Montreal General Hospital. He was one of the founders of the Protestant House of Industry and Refuge and a major donor to the Canada Foreign Missionary Society and the French-Canadian Missionary Society. Redpath was a supporter of the 1833 law that abolished slavery in the British colonies and served as the head of a small group that lobbied for government assistance to fight Montreal's "white slavery" traffic, working with the Magdalen Asylum in Montreal to aid impoverished immigrant women forced into prostitution. Having had limited education, Redpath was a strong advocate of learning. He helped establish The Presbyterian College, Montreal and the Montreal Mechanics Institute, now the Atwater Library. John Redpath was also a benefactor of the first endowment fund established for McGill University and his son Peter endowed a Chair of Mathematics at the university plus he built the university's Redpath Museum and Redpath Library. French Canadian (or Franco-Canadian) is a term that refers to francophone inhabitants of Canada. ... Slavery is any of a number of related conditions involving control of a person against his or her will, enforced by violence or other clear forms of coercion. ... Magdalen Laundry in Ireland, c. ... Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ... Historically, Mechanics Institutes were educational establishments formed to provide adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working people. ... McGill University Grandescunt aucta labore (By work, all things increase and grow) Shield image © McGill University McGill University is a co-educational, non-denominational university located in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ... The Redpath Museum is a museum of natural history belonging to McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ...

John Redpath was married first to Janet McPhee, herself a Scottish immigrant from Invernessshire. They would have ten children and after her passing he married again, fostering another seven children. He built his large family a home overlooking Montreal on the slopes of Mount Royal, an area that eventually became the city of Westmount. Inverness-shire is one of the traditional counties of Scotland. ... Alternate uses: Mount Royal (disambiguation) Mount Royal (French: mont Royal) is a mountain on the Island of Montreal, immediately north of downtown Montréal, Québec, Canada, the city to which it gave its name. ... Westmount is a former (and future) city in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the Island of Montreal, an enclave of the city of Montreal; pop. ...

On his passing in 1869, John Redpath was interred in the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal. Mount Royal Cemetery Opened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a 165-acre (668 000 m²) terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ...

In 2004, author Richard Feltoe published A Gentleman of Substance - The Life and Legacy of John Redpath (1796-1869).

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online (http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=38788)