Sir Adam Beck
| Sir Adam Beck | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for London | |
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In office May 29, 1902 – September 23, 1919 |
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| Preceded by | Francis Baxter Leys |
| Succeeded by | Hugh Allen Stevenson |
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In office June 25, 1923 – August 15, 1925 |
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| Preceded by | Hugh Allen Stevenson |
| Succeeded by | The electoral district was abolished. |
| Chairman of Ontario Hydro | |
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In office 1906–1925 |
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| Preceded by | none |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 20, 1857 Baden, Upper Canada |
| Died | August 15, 1925 (aged 68) London, Ontario |
| Resting place | Hamilton Cemetery |
| Spouse(s) | Lilian (Ottaway) Beck |
| Cabinet | Minister Without Portfolio (1905-1914) |
Sir Adam Beck (June 20, 1857 – August 15, 1925) was a politician and hydroelectricity advocate who founded the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario.
Beck was born in Baden, Upper Canada (now Ontario) to German immigrants, Jacob Beck and Charlotte Hespeler. He attended school at the Rockwood Academy in Rockwood, Ontario. As a teenager he worked in his father's foundry, and later established a cigar-box manufacturing company in Galt (now Cambridge, Ontario) with his brother William. In 1885 he moved the company to London, Ontario, where it quickly flourished and established Beck as a wealthy and influential civic leader.
He was also involved in horse breeding and racing, and at a horse show in 1897 he met Lilian Ottaway of Hamilton daughter of Cuthbert Ottaway and Marion Stinson. Lilian's mother, by then Marion Crerar, objected to their 21-year age difference – she was 19 and he 40 – as well as Beck's love of horse racing, which they felt would keep him away from home. Nevertheless, they were married on September 7, 1898. Beck named their London mansion Headley, after Lilian's parents' home in Surrey, England. In addition to horse breeding, for which he won numerous prizes, Beck was also associated with tennis and lawn bowling.
Also in 1898, Beck ran for provincial legislature for the first time, but lost. In 1900, Beck founded the London Health Association, which would later develop into the University and Victoria Hospitals. In 1902, he was elected mayor of London and a few months later was elected to the Ontario legislature as the Conservative member from the London riding. He was re-elected mayor in 1903 and 1904 while simultaneously serving as a member of the provincial legislature (which is no longer permitted). Already a wealthy man, he donated his salary to charity while serving as mayor. In 1905, he was appointed minister without portfolio in the government of premier Sir James P. Whitney.
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