John Wilson McConnell (July 1, 1877 - November 6, 1963) was an Anglo-Quebecer businessman, newspaper publisher, humanitarian, and the most significant philanthropist in the history of the Province of Quebec, Canada. July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1877 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... Events January-February January 11 - The Whisky A Go-Go night club in Los Angeles, the first disco in the USA, is opened. ... Anglo-Quebecers are anglophone (English-speaking) residents of Quebec, in Canada. ... 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 Wilson McConnell

McConnell was born to a farming family in the Muskoka Region of Ontario. He left home as a boy of fourteen to find employment in the city of Toronto. His first job paid $3 a week but as an employee at Standard Chemical Co. he worked his way up to a management position that eventually led to a transfer to Montreal in 1901. The then twenty-three year old for a time lived in a room at the Montreal YMCA, an institution that he would later thank through his volunteering to help lead a successful fund-raising campaign. The Muskoka District Municipality (more generally referred to as the District of Muskoka, or simply Muskoka) is a regional municipality in Central Ontario that extends from Georgian Bay in the west, to the northern tip of Lake Couchiching in the south, to the western border of Algonquin Provincial Park in... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Area 1,076,395 km² (4th)  - Land 917,741 km²  - Water 158,654 km² (14. ... Motto: Diversity Our Strength Map of Ontario Counties, Toronto being red Area: 641 sq. ... Alternate meaning: YMCA (song) The YMCA (or Young Mens Christian Association) is an ecumenical Christian organization seeking to provide support for young people and their activities. ...

Although he had very limited education, J.W. McConnell was a principled and brilliant business visionary with a strong work ethic. Within a few years, he turned his savings into sizeable investments and in 1912 he gained majority control of St. Lawrence Sugar, a company founded in 1879 to compete with Montreal's Redpath Sugar refinery. The sugar refinery was struggling at the time McConnell stepped in but, renamed St. Lawrence Sugar Refineries, Limited he turned it into a very profitable business and would retain ownership for the rest of his life.

During World War I, J.W. McConnell played a key role in helping organize war bond drives and his business skills were put to use by the Government of Canada that appointed him to the unpaid position of Director of Licences for the Wartime Trade Board. In the decade following the end of the War, he sought out more business opportunities and in 1925 he bought the publishing business belonging to Hugh Graham (1848-1938) that included the Montreal Star newspaper. Under McConnell's leadership, the newspapers and magazines flourished. An extremely wealthy man, the respect he earned in the Montreal business community led to invitations to sit on the Board of Directors of a number of major corporations including the Bank of Montreal, Canadian Pacific Railway, Sun Life Assurance, International Nickel Company, Dominion Bridge Company Limited, Holt Renfrew & Co Ltd, and Dominion Rubber Company. At the same time, in 1922 his increasing community work resulted in him being offered a seat on the board of management of the Montreal General Hospital. As well, he was made a governor of McGill University in 1927 and of the Royal Victoria Hospital the following year, both institutions benefiting greatly from his generosity. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Categories: Stub ... System of government Canada is a constitutional monarchy as a Commonwealth Realm (see Monarchy in Canada) with a federal system of parliamentary government, and strong democratic traditions. ... Hugh Graham, 1st Baron Atholstan of Huntingdon (born July 18, 1848 - died January 28, 1938) was a Canadian publisher of Scots-Quebec ancestry. ... BMO Bank of Montreal, formerly known as simply Bank of Montreal, is Canadas oldest chartered bank. ... Sun Life Financial Inc. ... Inco Limited is a Canadian mining and metals company, headquartered in Toronto, 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. ...

McConnell quietly set about becoming one of his country’s greatest philanthropists. He shunned publicity and his own newspaper was never allowed to mention any of his charitable donations. He made very substantial contributions to McGill University and his funding created the Montreal Neurological Institute. To aid in the treatment of cancer, he purchased a cobalt 60Co therapy machine (the "cobalt bomb") for the Imperial Cancer Campaign, and donated them to the Jewish General Hospital, the Hôpital Notre-Dame de Montreal, and the Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu de Montreal and Hôpital L'Hôtel-Dieu de Québec in Quebec City. When normal cells are damaged or old they undergo apoptosis; cancer cells, however, avoid apoptosis. ... General Name, Symbol, Number cobalt, Co, 27 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 9 , 4, d Density, Hardness 8. ... Motto: Don de Dieu feray valoir (Gift of God shall make prosper) Area: 547. ...

During World War II, after the United States Lend-lease program was launched in March of 1941, fellow Canadian businessman Max Aitken, the then volunteer British Minister of Aircraft Production, asked McConnell to help finance the training of pilots such as Jackie Cochran in the United States to ferry American-built aircraft across the Atlantic. McConnell donated $1 million for the "Wings for Britain" campaign and in recognition of his contribution, a flying squadron was given his name. The Lend-lease Act of March 11, 1941 permitted the President of the United States to sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of, to any such government [whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States] any defense article. It thus extended... Sir William Maxwell Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (May 25, 1879 - June 9, 1964) was a Canadian–British business tycoon and politician. ... The Minister of Aircraft Production was the British government position in charge of the Ministry of Aircraft Production, one of the specialised supply ministries set up by the British Government during World War II. As the name suggests, it was responsible for aircraft production for the British forces; primarily the... The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. ...

In the 1950s, J.W. McConnell provided the money to build a boys and girls club in Montreal's predominantly French speaking East End and in the English speaking suburb of Point St. Charles, one of the poorest sections of the city of Montreal. McConnell's benevolent works extended to individuals such as Maureen Forrester who recounted in her biography how he had learned of the difficulty she was experiencing, holding down a job while trying to develop her singing career. He contacted her and offered to cover her expenses for three years so she could train professionally --- on the condition she never reveal his name. A patron of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, in the early 1960s when the Orchestra was preparing to move to new facilities at Place des Arts, McConnell purchased a 1727 Stradivarius violin for concertmaster and violinist Calvin Sieb. French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Maureen Forrester (born July 25, 1930 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian contralto. ... The Orchestre symphonique de Montreal (Montreal Symphony Orchestra) is a major Quebec orchestra. ... View of the Place des Arts esplanade. ... For the Stradivarius brand of brass instruments, see Vincent Bach Corporation. ...

When John Wilson McConnell died in 1963, his newspaper's rival, the Montreal Gazette, gave his passing front page coverage, describing him as "one of the world's great philanthropists" and that he had "played a key role in building the institutions in this city." A remarkable part of his legacy is the relationship he established with the union movement. Today, the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) acts as a liaison for the J. W. McConnell Family Foundation. The Gazette is a major English-language daily newspaper produced out of Montreal, Quebec. ...

In his honor, McGill University named several buildings after him and the world-renowned McConnell Brain Imaging Centre can be found at the Montreal Neurological Institute. Almost thirty years after his passing, his foundation was still carrying out his philanthropic ideals. In 1992, the J. W. McConnell Building opened at Concordia University in Montreal and the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation continues to undertake charitable work to this day. This article is about Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. ...

John Wilson McConnell was interred in the family plot at Mount Royal Cemetery. 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 1973, the Montreal Star was sold to Free Press Publications of Toronto and within a few years closed its doors. In 1984, his estate sold St. Lawrence Sugar Refineries to the Saint John, New Brunswick based Lantic Sugar Limited. Saint John, 2001 population 69,661 (metropolitan population 122,678) is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. ...