John Black Aird

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QC
23rd Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
In office
September 15, 1980 – September 20, 1985
MonarchElizabeth II
Governors GeneralEdward Schreyer
Jeanne Sauvé
PremierBill Davis
Frank Miller
David Peterson
Preceded byPauline Mills McGibbon
Succeeded byLincoln Alexander
Senator from Ontario
In office
November 10, 1964 – November 28, 1974
Nominated byLester B. Pearson
Personal details
Born(1923-05-05)May 5, 1923
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DiedMay 6, 1995(1995-05-06) (aged 72)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Resting placeMount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
Political partyLiberal
SpouseLucille Jane Housser[1]
Children4
RelativesSir John Aird (grandfather)
ProfessionLawyer

John Black Aird

corporate director, and political figure. He served in the Senate of Canada from 1964 to 1974, and he was Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
from 1980 to 1985.

Life and career

Aird was born in Toronto, Ontario, and was the grandson of Sir John Aird, a prominent Canadian banker. He was educated at Upper Canada College, Trinity College and Osgoode Hall Law School. Aird was a Brother at the Toronto Chapter of Alpha Delta Phi.

During World War II, Aird served in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve. In July 1944, he married Lucille “Jane” Housser.

Aird practised law in Toronto and headed his own firm, Aird & Berlis, in 1974. He also served as a director of several corporations. In 1958, he was appointed to the board of directors of Callaghan Mining.[3] He later was chairman of the board of Algoma Central Railway.[4]

Aird was one of the founding partners of the Canadian law firm Aird & Berlis LLP

From 1964 to 1974, he was a

Canada-United States Permanent Joint Board on Defence. From 1977 to 1985, he was Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo
.

Aird was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1976,[5] and he served as 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1980 to 1985. The main focus of his mandate was Ontarians with disabilities. He wrote a book, Loyalty in a Changing World, about the contemporary function of the Lieutenant Governor.

He was Lieutenant Governor when, 22 days into the

King-Byng Affair
and accused Aird of partisanship for asking Peterson to form a government rather than dissolving the legislature and calling a new election.

Honours

The John B. Aird in 2010

In 1983 Algoma Central launched a ship named the John B. Aird.[4] Aird had previously been chairman of the board of Algoma Central Railway.

After his term as Lieutenant Governor, Aird became Chancellor of the University of Toronto, his alma mater.[6] He was made an Honorary Senior Fellow of Renison University College in 1985.[7] He also served as Governor of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.[8]

Aird was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 1987, and he was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada in 1992. He died in Toronto in 1995.

References

External links

Government offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
1980–1985
Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University
1977–1985
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chancellor of the University of Toronto
1986–1991
Succeeded by