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Mitch Hepburn

Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Hepburn1.jpg
The Hon. Mitchell Frederick Hepburn
11th Premier of Ontario
In office
July 10, 1934 – October 21, 1942
Monarch George V
Edward VIII
George VI
Lieutenant Governor Herbert A. Bruce
Albert E. Matthews
Preceded by George Stewart Henry
Succeeded by Gordon Daniel Conant
MP for Elgin West
In office
September 14, 1926 – June 3, 1934
Preceded by Hugh Cummings McKillop
Succeeded by Wilson Henry Mills
MPP for Elgin
In office
June 19, 1934 – March 24, 1945
Preceded by new riding
Succeeded by Fletcher Stewart Thomas
Personal details
Born Mitchell Frederick Hepburn
(1896-08-12)August 12, 1896
St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada
Died January 5, 1953(1953-01-05) (aged 56)
St. Thomas, Ontario
Resting place St. Thomas Cemetery
Political party Ontario Liberal Party
Spouse(s) Eva Burton

Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 – January 5, 1953) was the 11th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest Premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37. His personality was complex, as The Globe and Mail noted in its obituary for him:

Warm-hearted, loyal to his friends, Mitch Hepburn was often described as a political paradox. Mistakes which would have ended the public career of other men were taken in stride. He commanded affection where others obtained only respect. He loved good times, the company of convivial friends, the telling of a good, if off-colour, story.

Born in St. Thomas, Ontario, Hepburn attended school in Elgin County and hoped to become a lawyer. His educational career ended abruptly, however, when someone threw an apple at visiting dignitary Sir Adam Beck knocking his silk top hat off of his head. Hepburn was accused of the deed, denied it, but refused to identify the culprit. Refusing to apologise he walked out of his high school and obtained a job as a bank clerk at the Canadian Bank of Commerce where he worked from 1913 to 1917 eventually becoming an accountant at the bank's Winnipeg branch.

At the outbreak of World War I, Hepburn was already enlisted in the 34th Fort Garry Horse, but was unable to obtain his parents' consent to sign up for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He became a lieutenant in the 25th Elgin Regiment of the Canadian Militia, and was conscripted to the 1st (Western Ontario) Battalion in 1918. He transferred to the Royal Air Force and was sent to Deseronto for training, but injuries in an automobile accident that summer, followed by influenza in the fall, kept him from active service. He returned to St. Thomas to tend the family's onion farm.


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