Ernest Albert Macdonald (1858 – December 18, 1902) was Mayor of Toronto in 1900.

Born in Oswego, New York

Oswego, New York

Oswego is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 18,142 at the 2010 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in north-central New York and promotes itself as "The Port City of Central New York"...

, Macdonald emigrated to Brockville, 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....

 when he was young. He was a member of the Toronto City Council for St. Matthew's ward and ran three times unsuccessfully for mayor before being elected in 1900. He served for one year and lost when he ran for re-election. His defeat led to a nervous breakdown

Nervous breakdown

Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...

. He died in 1902 after a lengthy battle with syphilis

Syphilis

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...

.

Prior to becoming mayor, Macdonald built up and lost a real estate fortune which would have been worth millions in 21st century dollars.