| Sir Henry Pellatt | |
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 Major-General Sir Henry Pellatt |
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| Born | January 6, 1859 Kingston, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | March 8, 1939 (aged 80) Mimico, Ontario, Canada |
Major-General Sir Henry Mill Pellatt, C.V.O. (January 6, 1859, Kingston, Ontario, Canada - March 8, 1939) was a well-known Canadian financier and soldier.
He is perhaps best known for his role in bringing hydro-electricity to Toronto, Ontario for the first time, and also for his famous château, called Casa Loma, in Toronto, which was the largest private residence ever constructed in Canada. Casa Loma would eventually become a highly famous landmark of the city. His summer home and farm in King City would later become Mary Lake Augustinian Monastery.
Sir Henry was also a noted supporter of the Boy Scouts of Canada. His wife Lady Mary Pellatt was the first Chief Commissioner of the Girl Guides of Canada.
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Early beginnings
He was educated at Upper Canada College before leaving in 1876 to join his father's stock brokerage company, Pellatt and Osler, as a clerk. In 1882, Osler and Pellatt parted ways, and Henry Jr. completed his apprenticeship and became a full member of the stock exchange. In the following year, Henry Pellatt Sr. set up a partnership with his son under the name Pellatt and Pellatt.
Pellatt enlisted as a Rifleman with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada on November 2, 1876. In 1882 he married Mary Dodgson, who would later become Lady Pellatt when he was knighted in 1905 for his service with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada.
Achievements
In 1910, Sir Henry took the entire 600 man regiment (including its horses) to England for military training at his expense to mark the Regiment's 50th anniversary. The military exercises lasted from 13 August to 3 October.
Much of Pellatt's fortune was made through investments in the hydro electricity and railway industries in Canada. The strain of maintaining his large castle led him to ill-advised real estate investments which were unsuccessful. The Province expropriated his electrical power generating business, and his aircraft manufacturing business was later taken over as part of the war effort during World War I. Combined, these difficulties led to his near bankruptcy and forced him and Lady Pellatt to leave Casa Loma. Sir Henry Pellatt, virtually penniless, spent his final days at his chauffeur's home in the Toronto suburb of Mimico where he died.
Pellatt was promoted to the rank of Major-General upon his retirement from The Queen's Own Rifles regiment. When he died on March 8, 1939, thousands lined Toronto streets to witness his funeral procession. He was buried with full military honours.[1]
Personal
He had three sisters and two brothers, Fred Pellatt (grandfather of Toronto freelance writer John Pellatt) and Mill Pellatt (father of Mary Katherine Pellatt).[citation needed] The latter brother was paymaster of the Toronto Electric Light Company, a job obtained by Sir Henry. His sisters were Mary Kate, Marian Maria and Emily Mountford Pellatt.
Pellatt died in 1939 and is interred at Forest Lawn Mausoleum in Toronto.
His life has been featured in the film The Pellatt Newsreel' written and directed by Barbra Cooper of Lush Art & Entertainment which on the Biography Channel.
Several biographies have been written about Pellatt. In particular, Carlie Oreskovich's The King of Casa Loma gives a detailed and thorough account.
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Henry Pellatt |
Notes
- ^ Casa Loma - Media Room - Press Releases at www.casaloma.org
Bibliography
- Flint, David. Sir Henry Pellatt: the King of Casa Loma (book review), Canadian Historical Review, December 1983, pp. 573(2). Gale Document Number:A3033604. Retrieved 25 Sept. 2009.
- Ford, Tom. "Canada's water power", Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg, MB, April 28, 2008, pg.13, ISSN 0828-1785, Accession Number: 7BS7BS1111185262. Retrieved 25 Sept. 2009.
- Freeman, Bill and Pietropaolo, Vincenzo. Toronto's Fairy-Tale Castle and Its Owner, Sir Henry Pellatt, James Lorimer, 1999, ISBN 1550285955, ISBN 9781550285956.
- Globe & Mail. "Fight Will Centre on M'naught Bill: Measure Gives Great Scope To Hydro-Electric Commission: Sir Henry Pellatt Asks That Legislative Inquiry Be Started", The Globe & Mail, Toronto, March 13, 1911, pp. 1,9. Retrieved 25 Sept. 2009.
- Oreskovich, Carlie with forward by Sinclair, Gordon. Sir Henry Pellatt, the King of Casa Loma, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Toronto, 1982, ISBN 0075484560, ISBN 978-0075484561.
- Report on Business Magazine. 75 years ago: Auction of Contents of Henry Pellatt's Casa Loma. Report on Business Magazine, Toronto, July 1999: pg.234. Gale Document Number: A30527643. Retrieved 25 September, 2009.
- Time Magazine. Canada: Stable Sonics, Time Magazine, October 28, 1946. An interesting account of the 4,800 ASDIC sonar devices secretly manufactured at Casa Loma during WWII. Retrieved 25 Sept. 2009.
External links
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