Ezra Butler Eddy
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Ezra Butler Eddy (August 22, 1827 – February 10, 1906) was a Canadian businessman and political figure.
He was born near Bristol, Vermont in 1827. He began manufacturing wooden matches by hand in Burlington, Vermont in 1851. In 1854, he came to Hull, Quebec where he began producing matches using discarded wood from the nearby sawmills. His business grew rapidly and he began to produce other wooden products. He set up a factory, acquired timber rights and built his own sawmill. In 1882, his plant was destroyed in a fire but, by 1886, he had reorganized and established the E.B. Eddy Company. At the same time, he expanded into the pulp and paper business.
He represented Ottawa County in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1871 to 1875. He was a member of the municipal council for Hull from 1878 to 1888 and mayor from 1881 to 1885, from 1887 to 1888 and from 1891 to 1892.
After the great fire on April 26, 1900, Eddy was able to reestablish operation in less than a year in spite of the fact that he had suffered an estimated loss of 3 million dollars in the fire.
He died in 1906 and was buried in Vermont. Eddy's company was one of the major employers in the region for over a hundred years. The Eddy Match Company is still a major manufacturer of matches.
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