John Simcoe Macaulay

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For other people named John Macaulay, see John Macaulay.

John Simcoe Macaulay (October 13, 1791 – December 20, 1855) was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada.

He was born in England in 1791, the son of James Macaulay, and came to Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) with his family in 1792. The family moved to York (Toronto) when the capital was moved there and John attended John Strachan's school in Cornwall. In 1805, he attended the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. He became a captain in the Royal Engineers, serving with them during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1827, he became a professor of fortification at the Royal Military Academy. When he resigned in 1835, he returned to Upper Canada. In 1836, he was appointed surveyor general for the province by the new Lieutenant Governor Sir Francis Bond Head. The appointment was disputed because the candidate favoured by the Family Compact had been ignored and others did not consider Macaulay a genuine resident of the province. Head advised Macaulay to submit his resignation to the Colonial Secretary, expecting it to be refused, but it was accepted and John Macaulay, no relation, was appointed to the post instead. In 1839, he was appointed to the Legislative Council for the province. In 1841, he was elected to Toronto city council but he resigned after Henry Sherwood was elected instead of him as mayor. In 1845, he retired to England, where he died in 1855.