James McGill

Life & Legacy

James McGill (6 October 1744 – 19 December 1813) was a Scottish-born businessman, politician, slaveholder, and philanthropist best known for being the founder of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Montreal West and appointed to the Executive Council of Lower Canada in 1792. He was an honorary lieutenant colonel of the 1st Battalion, Montreal Militia, a predecessor unit of The Canadian Grenadier Guards. He was also a prominent member of the Château Clique and one of the original founding members of the Beaver Club. His summer home stood within the Golden Square Mile.
McGill was a highly influential and record breaking trader within Canada, specifically in furs. Along with a group of four other merchants, he sent 12 canoes to a port in modern-day Minnesota which "appeared to mark the beginning of large-scale trade" both in the north-west territory of North America and "of the North West Company in Canada". McGill was the largest investor of the fur trade within Lower Canada and Montreal in 1782, with some 26,000 Pound Sterling invested (not adjusted for inflation). It was said by his contemporaries that McGill was "the richest man in Montreal" at the time of his death.