E. P. Taylor
Encyclopedia
Edward Plunket Taylor was a Canadian business tycoon and famous breeder of thoroughbred
race horses
. Known to his friends as "Eddie", he is universally recorded as "E. P. Taylor".
, Ontario
into a wealthy family, Taylor attended Ashbury College
and graduated from Montreal
's McGill University
in 1922 with a Bachelor of Science
degree. After graduation, he worked for the investment brokerage firm McLeod Young and Weir (now ScotiaMcLeod
).
, which grew to be the world's largest brewing company.
During World War II
, he was a volunteer executive in the Canadian government's war effort. He was appointed by C. D. Howe
to the executive committee of the Department of Munitions and Supply and would be appointed by Winston Churchill
to run the British Supply Council in North America. He came close to losing his life when, in December 1940, the ship he was on was torpedoed while crossing the Atlantic
. He and others on the sinking ship were rescued by a captain who broke regulations to pick them up.
Through his war-time service, Taylor became connected to top businessmen from across Canada and around the world. At war's end, he founded Argus Corporation, becoming the investment company's majority shareholder by rolling Canadian Breweries stock into the new entity. Over the years, he gained control or had significant positions in many of his country's greatest companies such as Canadian Food Products, Massey-Harris
, Orange Crush Ltd., Standard Chemical, Dominion Stores
, British Columbia Forest Products Limited, Dominion Tar & Chemical Co.
, Standard Broadcasting
, and Hollinger Mines Limited
. During the highest point of his career, he was one of Canada's richest businessmen.
E.P. Taylor also pioneered the concept of gated communities in exotic places. He founded the highly exclusive Lyford Cay
gated community in 1959 and its 'Lyford Cay Club' on New Providence
island in the Bahamas. The Lyford Cay Club is home to some of the world's wealthiest people.
In 1948, E.P. Taylor and a small group of fellow alumni established the McGill University Alma Mater Fund, inviting all graduates to give annual donations and thereby "make of themselves a living endowment." http://www.mcgill.ca/donorreport/timeline/
at Blue Bonnets Raceway. As a businessman in the 1930s he established Cosgrave Stable to race horses which notably owned and raced the future Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
filly, Mona Bell
.
In the 1950s, E. P. Taylor and his wife, Winnifred, began breeding Thoroughbred
s. Their involvement led to the acquisition of Parkwood Stable
near Toronto and then Windfields Farm
at Oshawa
. The Taylor thoroughbred horse breeding operation produced Northern Dancer
, the greatest sire of the 20th century. In 1970, he was the world's leading horse breeder measured by money won. He was president of the Ontario Jockey Club from 1953 to 1973 where he consolidated numerous money-losing tracks throughout the province into fewer, but viable businesses. He was voted thoroughbred racing's man of the year in 1973 and the following year was elected to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
. In 1977 and 1983 he was named the winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder
as the leading thoroughbred breeder in North America
. Taylor's horses won 15 Queen's Plate
races and were named Canadian Horse of the Year nine times. He was also a founder of the Jockey Club of Canada
.
, in December 1962 the President stayed at Taylor's home in Lyford Cay while he held talks with British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
.http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=t3YyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=u-kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=894,941320&dq=lyford-cay+taylor&hl=enhttp://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5h4rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xZwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1838,1709235&dq=lyford-cay+taylor&hl=en
Windfields Estate was Taylor's home and was situated at 2489 Bayview Avenue in North York, Ontario
(now part of Toronto
). It is now the site of The Canadian Film Centre
. The 25 acres (10.1 ha) estate has been preserved as a heritage site. The Canadian Royal Family often stayed at Windfields when they visited Toronto; the last royals to stay there were Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, in the summer of 1974 and Prince Charles
and Diana, Princess of Wales
. There were many maids, two gardeners and a house manager who worked at the residence.
His son, journalist and author Charles P. B. Taylor
, died in 1997 at 62 after a nine-year battle with cancer.
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
race horses
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. Known to his friends as "Eddie", he is universally recorded as "E. P. Taylor".
Early years
Born in OttawaOttawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
into a wealthy family, Taylor attended Ashbury College
Ashbury College
Ashbury College is an independent day and boarding school located in Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, Canada. It was founded in 1891 and moved to its current venue in 1910. Previously, it occupied what now houses Canadian Senate offices. It is an International Baccalaureate World School, a member of the...
and graduated from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
's McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in 1922 with a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree. After graduation, he worked for the investment brokerage firm McLeod Young and Weir (now ScotiaMcLeod
Scotiabank
The Bank of Nova Scotia , commonly known as Scotiabank , is the third largest bank in Canada by deposits and market capitalization. It serves some 18.6 million customers in more than 50 countries around the world and offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial,...
).
Business
Starting with a brewery business (Brading Brewery) inherited from his grandfather, Taylor merged more than 20 other small breweries to create Canadian Breweries LimitedCanadian Breweries Limited
Canadian Breweries Limited was an Ontario based holding company in the brewery industry. Originally named Brewing Corporation of Ontario, E. P. Taylor created the company in 1930 by merging Bradings Breweries Limited , and Capital Brewing of Ottawa and Kuntz Brewery of Waterloo, Ontario...
, which grew to be the world's largest brewing company.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was a volunteer executive in the Canadian government's war effort. He was appointed by C. D. Howe
C. D. Howe
Clarence Decatur Howe, PC , generally known as C. D. Howe, was a powerful Canadian Cabinet minister of the Liberal Party. Howe served in the governments of Prime Ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent continuously from 1935 to 1957...
to the executive committee of the Department of Munitions and Supply and would be appointed by Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
to run the British Supply Council in North America. He came close to losing his life when, in December 1940, the ship he was on was torpedoed while crossing the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. He and others on the sinking ship were rescued by a captain who broke regulations to pick them up.
Through his war-time service, Taylor became connected to top businessmen from across Canada and around the world. At war's end, he founded Argus Corporation, becoming the investment company's majority shareholder by rolling Canadian Breweries stock into the new entity. Over the years, he gained control or had significant positions in many of his country's greatest companies such as Canadian Food Products, Massey-Harris
Massey Ferguson
Massey Ferguson Limited was a major agricultural equipment manufacturer which was based in Canada before its purchase by AGCO. The company was formed by a merger between Massey Harris and the Ferguson tractor company in 1953, creating the company Massey Harris Ferguson. However in 1958 the name was...
, Orange Crush Ltd., Standard Chemical, Dominion Stores
Dominion Stores
Dominion Stores refers to the following supermarket chains in Canada:*Dominion , the former national chain, more recently operating only in the Greater Toronto Area. The remaining locations were rebranded as Metro in 2008....
, British Columbia Forest Products Limited, Dominion Tar & Chemical Co.
Domtar
Domtar Corporation is the largest integrated producer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America and the second largest in the world based on production capacity, and is also a manufacturer of papergrade pulp....
, Standard Broadcasting
Standard Broadcasting
Slaight Communications is a Canadian radio broadcasting company. The company was first formed as Slaight Broadcasting in 1971, when owner J. Allan Slaight acquired CFGM in Richmond Hill...
, and Hollinger Mines Limited
Hollinger Mines
The Hollinger Gold Mine was founded by Benny Hollinger in Timmins, Ontario, and in 1910 the company was incorporated by Noah Timmins and partners. The main Hollinger Mine operated from 1910 until 1968. During that period 65,778,234 tons were milled, producing 19,327,691 ounces of gold,...
. During the highest point of his career, he was one of Canada's richest businessmen.
E.P. Taylor also pioneered the concept of gated communities in exotic places. He founded the highly exclusive Lyford Cay
Lyford Cay
Lyford Cay is a private gated community located on the western tip of New Providence Island, Bahamas. Considered one of the world's wealthiest and most exclusive neighborhoods, the Lyford Cay Club was built during the latter part of the 1950s by prominent Canadian businessman Edward Plunkett Taylor...
gated community in 1959 and its 'Lyford Cay Club' on New Providence
New Providence
New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It also houses the national capital city, Nassau.The island was originally under Spanish control following Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World, but the Spanish government showed...
island in the Bahamas. The Lyford Cay Club is home to some of the world's wealthiest people.
In 1948, E.P. Taylor and a small group of fellow alumni established the McGill University Alma Mater Fund, inviting all graduates to give annual donations and thereby "make of themselves a living endowment." http://www.mcgill.ca/donorreport/timeline/
Thoroughbred racing
While a student at Montreal's McGill University in 1918, E. P. Taylor was introduced to the sport of Thoroughbred horse racingThoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
at Blue Bonnets Raceway. As a businessman in the 1930s he established Cosgrave Stable to race horses which notably owned and raced the future Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....
filly, Mona Bell
Mona Bell
Mona Bell was an American rodeo rider, newspaper reporter, and the mistress of entrepreneur Samuel Hill.Born in East Grand Forks, Minnesota, she went for one year to the University of North Dakota across the state line in Grand Forks, North Dakota; she apparently stood out there for her skills at...
.
In the 1950s, E. P. Taylor and his wife, Winnifred, began breeding Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
s. Their involvement led to the acquisition of Parkwood Stable
Parkwood Stable
Parkwood Stable was a thoroughbred racing stable founded in the early 1930s and expanded to include a breeding farm near Toronto, Ontario in 1937. Owned by the wealthy automobile maker Col...
near Toronto and then Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm is a six square kilometre thoroughbred horse breeding farm founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated with a property near the city of Toronto known as Parkwood Stable when it was owned by...
at Oshawa
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
. The Taylor thoroughbred horse breeding operation produced Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and the most successful sire of the 20th Century. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls him "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history"....
, the greatest sire of the 20th century. In 1970, he was the world's leading horse breeder measured by money won. He was president of the Ontario Jockey Club from 1953 to 1973 where he consolidated numerous money-losing tracks throughout the province into fewer, but viable businesses. He was voted thoroughbred racing's man of the year in 1973 and the following year was elected to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...
. In 1977 and 1983 he was named the winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor for breeders. Created in 1971, it is part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually.Its Canadian counterpart is the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Breeder....
as the leading thoroughbred breeder in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Taylor's horses won 15 Queen's Plate
Queen's Plate
The Queen's Plate is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each summer in June or July at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
races and were named Canadian Horse of the Year nine times. He was also a founder of the Jockey Club of Canada
Jockey Club of Canada
The Jockey Club of Canada was formed in 1973 to oversee thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the club is responsible for the annual Sovereign Awards program and the Canadian Graded Stakes Committee.Founding members:...
.
Residences
In 1963, Taylor moved to the Bahamas, taking advantage of the warm climate and its inheritance tax laws. He lived in the gated community he had built called Lyford Cay. He died there in 1989 at the age of 88. A friend of U.S. President John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, in December 1962 the President stayed at Taylor's home in Lyford Cay while he held talks with British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
.http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=t3YyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=u-kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=894,941320&dq=lyford-cay+taylor&hl=enhttp://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5h4rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xZwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1838,1709235&dq=lyford-cay+taylor&hl=en
Windfields Estate was Taylor's home and was situated at 2489 Bayview Avenue in North York, Ontario
North York, Ontario
North York is a dissolved municipality within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the central part of the northern section of Toronto. As of the 2006 Census, it has a population of 635,370. The official 2001 census count was 608,288...
(now part of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
). It is now the site of The Canadian Film Centre
Canadian Film Centre
The Canadian Film Centre is an advanced training institution for film, television and new media. Based in Toronto, Canada, CFC offers residents education, industry partnerships and production experience...
. The 25 acres (10.1 ha) estate has been preserved as a heritage site. The Canadian Royal Family often stayed at Windfields when they visited Toronto; the last royals to stay there were Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, in the summer of 1974 and Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
and Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
. There were many maids, two gardeners and a house manager who worked at the residence.
His son, journalist and author Charles P. B. Taylor
Charles P. B. Taylor
Charles Plunket Bourchier Taylor was a Canadian journalist, author, essayist, and thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder....
, died in 1997 at 62 after a nine-year battle with cancer.