James Ross (Canadian businessman)
James Leveson Ross (1848 – 20 September 1913), of
Montreal, was a Scottish-born Canadian civil engineer, businessman and philanthropist. He established his fortune predominantly through railway construction, notably for the
Canadian Pacific Railway, of which he was the major
shareholder, and advising
Lord Strathcona on railway projects in Argentina and Chile. He oversaw the electrification of street railways in
Montreal,
Toronto,
Winnipeg,
Saint John,
Birmingham (England),
Mexico City and
São Paulo. He was president of the
Dominion Bridge Company, the Mexican Power Company etc. He was Honorary
Lieutenant-Colonel of the
17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars and Governor of
McGill University and the
Royal Victoria Hospital. He was an avid collector of the
Old Masters and president of the
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. He owned several yachts including two named ''Glencairn'' and became the first Canadian to be made a member of the
Royal Yacht Squadron. He funded the construction of the Ross Memorial Wing at the
Royal Vic; the Ross Memorial Hospital and Nurse's Home at
Lindsay, Ontario; and the Protestant Hospital for the Insane at
Verdun, Quebec. He lived in the
Golden Square Mile.
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