Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
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Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a famous cemetery located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
In the early 19th century, the only authorized cemeteries within the city of Toronto (then known as York) were limited to the members of either the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church. Deceased citizens who did not belong to either of these Christian denominations had no choice but to find burial arrangements outside of the city.
In 1873, a new cemetery available to all citizens was conceived. Originally a 200 acre (0.8 km²) farm, on the far outskirts of Toronto, Mount Pleasant Cemetery opened on November 4, 1876, resplendent with more than twelve miles (19 km) of carriage drives along rolling hills and blue lakes filled with ducks and swans.
With the growth in population, today the cemetery is located in the centre of the city. While the watercourses have since been filled in, the cemetery still has many miles of walking paths, interspersed with fountains, statues, botanical gardens, and rare and distinct trees.
As the final resting place of more than 168,000 persons, Mount Pleasant Cemetery contains remarkable architecture amongst its many monuments.
[edit] Notable interments:
- James Cox Aikins (1823-1904), politician
- Frederick Banting (1891-1941) & Charles Best (1899-1978), co-discoverers of insulin
- William George 'Billy' Barker, VC, DSO & Bar, MC & Two Bars (1894-1930), LCOL, 201 Squadron, RAF. World War I flying ace, Victoria Cross recipient
- Arnold Brown (1913-2002), General of The Salvation Army
- Billy Burch (1900-1950), Hall of Fame ice-hockey player
- Charlie Conacher (1909-1967), Hall of Fame ice hockey player
- George Albertus Cox (1840-1914), businessman, Senator
- Fred Davis (1921-1996), popular television host
- Northrop Frye (1912-1991), educator, literary critic
- Frederick G. Gardiner (1895–1983), politician
- Bobby Gimby (1918 - 1998) Writer of the Expo 67 theme: Ca-na-da
- Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936), Presbyterian Missionary
- Glenn Gould (1932-1982), musician, pianist, composer, musical theorist
- James Henry Gundy (1880-1951), stockbroker, co-founder of Wood Gundy Inc.
- Foster Hewitt (1902-1985), broadcaster
- Bertha Harmer (1880-1934), prominent Canadian/American nurse
- Gerhard Heintzman, Heintzman & Co. piano manufacturer
- George Imlach, hockey player and coach
- Dick Irvin (1892-1957), Hall of Fame ice-hockey player and coach
- George Fraser Kerr, VC, MC & Bar, MM (1895-1929), CAPT, 3rd battalion (Toronto) Central Ontario Regiment, CEF. World War I Victoria Cross recipient
- William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874-1950), Prime Minister of Canada
- George Knudson (1937-1989), PGA Tour golfer
- Laura Muntz Lyall (1860-1930), artist
- William McMaster (1811-1887), banker, statesman, a founder of McMaster University
- Alexander Muir (1830-1906), author of The Maple Leaf Forever (1867), Canada's early (unofficial) National Anthem
- John A. Pearson, architect from the firm Pearson and Darling
- Egerton Ryerson (1803-1882), educator
- Clifford Sifton, politician
- John Charles Smith (1866-1898), father of actress Mary Pickford
- Bill Zock, Jr. (1928-1988), Hall of Fame CFL football player
Businesspeople
- Alfred Ernest Ames (1867-1934), stockbroker, founder of A.E. Ames & Co.
- Alfred J. Billes (1902-1995), cofounder of Canadian Tire
- George Montegu Black II (1911-1976), president of Canadian Breweries
- Matthew James Boylen (1907-1970)< mining magnate, racehorse owner
- Robert Davies (1849-1916), businessman, racehorse owner
- Timothy Eaton (1834-1907), department store magnate
- Henry R. Jackman, businessman and politician
- Albert Edward Kemp (1858-1929), businessman and politician
- Hart Massey (1823-1896), businessman
- Ryland H. New (1888-1979), businessman, racehorse owner
- Frederick Nicholls (1856-1921), businessman, founded the first electric power company in Canada
- Edward S. Rogers, Sr. (1900-1939), founder of Rogers Communications
- Thomas Alexander Russell (1877-1940), automobile manufacturer
- Steve Stavro (1928-2006), businessman, horse breeder, former owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs
- Joseph Shepard II, businessman
- Robert Simpson (1834-1897), department store magnate
- George Weston (1864-1924), businessman, founder of George Weston Limited
- W. Garfield Weston (1898-1978), businessman
- George Howard Ferguson (1870-1946)
- William Hearst (1864-1941)
- George Stewart Henry (1871-1958)
- Sir Oliver Mowat (1820-1903), also considered a Father of Canadian Confederation
- George William Ross (1841-1914)
Lieutenants Governor of Ontario:
- Herbert Alexander Bruce (1868-1963), surgeon
- William Mortimer Clark (1936-1917), lawyer
- Lionel Herbert Clarke (1859-1921), brewer
- John Keiller MacKay (1888-1970), lawyer, judge
- Albert Edward Matthews (1873-1949), broker
- Samuel McBride (1866-1936), lumber merchant
- Robert John Fleming (1854-1925), businessman
- Warring Kennedy (1827-1904), businessman
- Robert Hood Saunders (1903-1955), lawyer
- Thomas Urquhart (1858-1931), lawyer
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Official web site
- Filey, Mike Mount Pleasant Cemetery (1990) Firefly Books ISBN 0-920668-69-0