- George William Allan
Infobox_Politician
name = George William Allan
image_size= 150px
caption = The Hon. George William Allan, P.C.
birth_date = birth date|1822|1|9|mf=y
birth_place = Township of York
residence =
death_date = death date and age|1901|7|24|1822|1|9|mf=y
death_place =
office = 11thMayor of Toronto
salary =
term_start = 1855
term_end = 1855
predecessor =Joshua George Beard
successor =John Beverley Robinson
party =
office2 =Canadian Senator
term_start2 =1867-10-23
term_end2 =1901-07-24
party = Conservative
constituency2 = York, Ontario
religion =
majority =
spouse = Louisa Maud Robinson
children =
website =
footnotes =George William Allan, PC (
January 9 ,1822 –July 24 ,1901 ) was a Canadian politician.Allan's father, William, was a pioneer who settled what was then the Township of York during
John Graves Simcoe 's term asGovernor . William Allan eventually became the city's first postmaster and was appointed to theLegislative Council of Upper Canada and was a supporter of theFamily Compact .George William Allan attended
Upper Canada College and served with the Bank Rifle Corps when it helped put down the 1837Upper Canada Rebellion . He went on to study law and was called to the bar in 1846 when he also married his first wife, Lousia Maud Robinson.Allan travelled extensively before beginning his law practice. He toured Europe, the
Nile River ,Syria , theHoly Land ,Turkey andGreece giving him a lifelong appreciation of travel and winning him election to theRoyal Geographic Society .He was a
Toronto alderman from 1849 until 1855, when he was elected the 11th Mayor of Toronto. In 1858, he entered national politics representing York on the Legislative Council untilCanadian Confederation . In 1867 he was nominated to theCanadian Senate as one of its first members and sat as a Conservative. In 1869 he was appointed government trustee for municipal bond fund of theToronto and Nipissing Railway . He was chairman of the Standing Committee on Banking and Commerce for many years and was Speaker from 1888 until 1891. He remained in theUpper House until his death in 1901.Allan's interests included education, science, culture and art. He held a large collection of paintings by
Paul Kane and presided over such bodies as theRoyal Canadian Institute , the Ontario Society of Artists, the Toronto Conservatory of Music and the Ontario Historical Society. He served as chancellor of Trinity College. He donated to the city of Toronto a piece of land which formed the nucleus ofAllan Gardens . He was also active in theSynod of theChurch of England , and was president of the Upper Canada Bible Society. He died at his residence,Moss Park , in Toronto.His son, George William Allan (Jr.), served one term in the
Canadian House of Commons .References
External links
* [http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/bio.asp?lang=E&query=1910&s=M Political biography from the Library of Parliament]
* [http://parl11.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/SP-BL/sen/index.asp?Language=E¶m=2&id=1910 Speakers of the Senate biography]
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