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John Ross Robertson

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John Ross Robertson
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Toronto East
In office
1896–1900
Preceded byEmerson Coatsworth
Succeeded byAlbert Edward Kemp
Personal details
Born(1841-12-28)December 28, 1841
Toronto, Canada West
DiedMay 31, 1918(1918-05-31) (aged 76)
Toronto, Ontario
Political partyIndependent Conservative

John Ross Robertson (December 28, 1841 – May 31, 1918) was a Canadian newspaper publisher, politician, and philanthropist in Toronto, Ontario.

Career

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Born in 1841, in Toronto, the son of John Robertson, a Scottish wholesale merchant, and Margaret Sinclair, Robertson was educated at Upper Canada College, a private high school in Toronto.[1] As a young man, he started a newspaper at UCC called Young Canada and a satirical weekly magazine, The Grumbler, published in 1864.[citation needed]

He was hired as a reporter and then city editor at The Globe in Toronto, but left The Globe to found The Toronto Daily Telegraph in 1866. That paper lasted five years,[2] and Robertson went to England as a reporter for The Globe.[1] He returned to Toronto in 1876 and convinced his friend and former colleague, Goldwin Smith, to loan him $10,000 to enable him to launch the Toronto Evening Telegram.[3] In the Toronto Evening Telegram he wrote a recurring column on Toronto landmarks. The Evening Telegram was a success from the start and Robertson was soon a wealthy man. Eventually these columns were published in a book called Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto which consists of six volumes.[4]

He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada for the electoral district of Toronto East in the 1896 federal election defeating the incumbent Conservative MP, Emerson Coatsworth. An Independent Conservative, he did not run for re-election in 1900.[citation needed]

The world of sports was also a focus for Robertson’s public-spiritedness. A fervent advocate of amateur sport, he served as president of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1899 to 1905, which was a critical time period in the history of the sport.[1] His battle to protect hockey from the influence of professionalism caused him to be called the "father of Amateur Hockey in Ontario."[5] During his term as president, the OHA was able to set rules defining professionalism in hockey. He worked especially hard to rid hockey of increasing violence both on and off the ice.[6] Robertson donated three similarly named trophies to the OHA for its annual playoffs champions, which included the first J. Ross Robertson Cup for the senior division, the second J. Ross Robertson Cup for the intermediate division, and the third J. Ross Robertson Cup for the junior division.[7][8] His donation of silver trophies to hockey, cricket, and bowling further encouraged amateur competition.[citation needed] He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947.[9]

In 1881, Robertson’s daughter Helen and niece Gracie died of scarlet fever on the same day.[10]

In 1883, Robertson, at his own expense, build The Lakeside Home for Little Children, on Toronto Island.[11]

John Ross Robertson grave monument
John Ross Robertson monument engraving
Robertson family grave stone at Toronto Necropolis

In 1902, Robertson was appointed Grand Junior Warden of England.[12] He also became president of the inaugural Canadian Copyright Association.[13] A few years later, he refused Knighthood honour and chose to remain a companion.[14]

Robertson bequeathed his book collection to the Toronto Public Library, founded a children's home, and left an annuity to the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children. The John Ross Robertson Public School, an elementary school of the Toronto District School Board is named after Robertson.[citation needed].

References

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General

  • "John Ross Robertson". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
  • John Ross Robertson – Parliament of Canada biography

Specific

  1. ^ a b c "John Ross Robertson". Brandon Daily Sun. Manitoba. May 5, 1955.
  2. ^ Hopkins, J. Castell (1898). An historical sketch of Canadian literature and journalism. Toronto: Lincott. p. 227. ISBN 0665080484.
  3. ^ Dickie, Allan (October 30, 1971). "Tely officially dead today". Brandon Sun. Manitoba.
  4. ^ Peppiatt, Liam. "About". Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto Revisited. Archived from the original on September 14, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  5. ^ "John Ross Robertson". heritagetrust.on.ca. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  6. ^ Young, Scott (1989). 100 Years of Dropping the Puck. Toronto, Ontario: McClelland & Stewart. pp. 46–47. ISBN 0-7710-9093-5.
  7. ^ "Robertson, John Ross—Biography—Honoured Builder". Legends of Hockey. Hockey Hall of Fame. 1947. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  8. ^ Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2005). Silverware. Bolton, Ontario: Fenn Publishing Company. pp. 8–9. ISBN 1-55168-296-6.
  9. ^ "John Ross Robertson". hhof.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  10. ^ Wright, David (January 6, 2017). SickKids: The History of The Hospital for Sick Children. University of Toronto Press. pp. 50–57. ISBN 9781442667570. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  11. ^ Young, Judith (1994). "A Divine Mission: Elizabeth McMaster and the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto". Canadian Bulletin of Medical History. 11 (1): 73–81. doi:10.3138/cbmh.11.1.71. PMID 11639375.
  12. ^ "Honors for Canadian Mason". Winnipeg Free Press. Manitoba. July 29, 1902.
  13. ^ "Copyright Association". Winnipeg Tribune. Manitoba. July 8, 1902.
  14. ^ "The Progress of War". Lethbridge Herald. Alberta. February 20, 1917. p. 4.
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