Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal
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The Right Honourable The Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal GCMG GCVO PC DL FRS |
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| Member of Parliament for Selkirk | |
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In office 1871–1880 |
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| Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom | |
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In office 1896–1914 |
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| Prime Minister |
Charles Tupper, Wilfrid Laurier Robert Borden |
| Preceded by | Charles Tupper |
| Succeeded by | George Perley |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Donald Alexander Smith 6 August 1820 Forres, Scotland |
| Died | 21 January 1914 (aged 93) London, England |
| Cause of death | Heart disease, bronchial catarrh and heart failure |
| Resting place | Highgate Cemetery, London |
| Citizenship | Canada |
| Spouse(s) | Isabella Sophia Hardisty |
| Children | Margaret Charlotte |
| Residence | 28 Grosvenor Square, London |
| Known for | Driving the CPR's Last Spike |
| Awards | Albert Medal (1912) |
| Signature |  |
Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal GCMG GCVO PC DL FRS (6 August 1820 – 21 January 1914) was a Scottish-born Canadian businessman who became one of the British Empire's foremost builders and philanthropists. He became commissioner, governor and principal shareholder of the Hudson's Bay Company. He was president of the Bank of Montreal and with his first cousin, Lord Mount Stephen, co-founded the Canadian Pacific Railway. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and afterwards represented Montreal in the Canadian House of Commons. He was Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1896 to 1914. He was chairman of Burmah Oil and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. He was chancellor of McGill University (1889–1914) and Aberdeen University.
King Edward VII called him "Uncle Donald". His estate was valued at $5.5 million. During his lifetime, and including the bequests left after his death, he gave away just over $7.5 million plus a further £1 million (not including private gifts and allowances) to a huge variety of charitable causes across Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. He personally raised Lord Strathcona's Horse, who saw their first action in the Boer War. He funded the building of Leanchoil Hospital. He and his first cousin, Lord Mount Stephen, purchased the land and then each gave $1 million to the City of Montreal to construct and maintain the Royal Victoria Hospital. He endowed the Lord Strathcona Medal and donated generously to McGill University, Aberdeen University, the University of Manchester, Yale University, the Prince of Wales Hospital Fund and the Imperial Institute. At McGill, he started the Donalda Program for the purpose of providing higher education for Canadian women, building the Royal Victoria College on Sherbrooke Street for that purpose in 1886. He also built the Strathcona Medical Building at McGill and endowed its chairs in pathology and hygiene. Strathcona Park in Ottawa is dedicated to his memory.
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