| Sir Herbert Samuel Holt | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 12, 1856 |
| Died | September 29, 1941 (aged 85) |
Sir Herbert Samuel Holt (February 12, 1856 – September 29, 1941) was an Irish-born Canadian civil engineer who became a businessman, banker, and corporate director.
He was born in Ballycrystal, Geashill, Co. Offaly, Ireland and emigrated to Canada in 1875, settling in the city of Montreal. During the 1880s he worked as a contractor under Chief Engineer James Ross, building sections of the Canadian Pacific Railway across the prairies and through the Rocky Mountains.
Herbert Holt became a pioneer developer of the energy business in the Province of Quebec and owned the Montreal Gas Company. In 1901 he merged Montreal Gas with Rodolphe Forget's Royal Electric Company to create the Montreal Light, Heat & Power Company. In 1944, their successful conglomerate was nationalized by legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly of Quebec. It came under the newly-created Quebec Hydroelectric Commission, also known as Hydro-Québec.
Holt served as president of the Royal Bank of Canada from 1908 to 1934, and the bank's chairman from 1934 until his death. He was a director of Montreal Trust Company, Canada Car and Foundry and several other Canadian companies. He was appointed chairman of the Federal Plan Commission in 1913.
In 1915, he was knighted by King George V. On May 7 of the same year his son, William Robert Grattan Holt, survived the sinking of the RMS Lusitania at the age of 15.
Herbert Samuel Holt died in 1941 and was interred in the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal.
Following its formation in 1979, Herbert Holt's significant contribution to the Canadian economy was recognized through his election to the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.
However, Holt was also one of the richest and most reviled Montrealers of his time. When his death was announced at a baseball game in 1941, the crowd cheered. To many French Canadians, Holt was the epitome of 'les maudits anglais' ('the damned English').
Herbert is remembered for being a harsh banker who enjoyed large profits while the common man suffered during the great depression. In his own words “If I am rich and powerful, while you are suffering the stranglehold of poverty and the humiliation of social assistance; if I was able, at the peak of the Depression, to make 150% profits each year, it is foolishness on your part, and as for me, it is the fruit of a wise administration.”
Holt, who was the father of three graduates of the Royal Military College of Canada, donated two hangars to the College in 1920 from the imperial war surplus stores in Canada. The hangars, which were free-freighted from Deseronto to Kingston, were erected as a covered skating rink. [1]