Pauline Mills McGibbon,
CCThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
,
O.OntThe Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander,
on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the...
(October 21 1910,
Sarnia, OntarioSarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....
- December 14 2001,
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
), served as the 22nd Lieutenant-Governor of
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
from 1974 to 1980.
Pauline Mills studied at the
University of TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated north of the city's Financial District on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. The university was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in the...
and later worked with community and national organizations such as the
Imperial Order of the Daughters of the EmpireThe Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire is a women's charitable organization based in Canada.It was founded in 1900 during the Second Boer War in patriotic support of the British Empire...
, for which she served as National President. In 1935 she married Donald McGibbon. Mrs. McGibbon served as Chancellor of the universities of
TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated north of the city's Financial District on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. The university was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in the...
and
GuelphThe University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a medium-sized university located in Guelph, Ontario, established in 1964. While the U of G offers degrees in many different disciplines, the university is best known for its focus on life sciences, based in part on a long-standing history of...
, Chairman of the
National Arts CentreThe National Arts Centre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ottawa, Ontario, between Elgin Street and the Rideau Canal...
in Ottawa, honorary colonel of 25 (Toronto) Service Battalion and was a Director of
Massey HallMassey Hall is a venerable performing arts theatre in the Garden District of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The theatre originally was designed to seat 3,500 patrons but, after extensive renovations in the 1940s, now seats up to 2,752.-History:...
and
Roy Thomson HallRoy Thomson Hall is a concert hall located at 60 Simcoe Street in Toronto, Ontario. It is the home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Opened in 1982, its circular architectural design exhibits a sloping and curvilinear glass exterior. It was designed by Canadian...
. She was appointed an Officer of the
Order of CanadaThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
in 1967.
Mrs. McGibbon was installed as the first female Lieutenant Governor of Ontario in 1974, and thus became the first female Governor in Canada. (The first female Governor in the
CommonwealthThe Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states. Most of them were formerly part of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values...
was Dame
Hilda BynoeDame Hilda Louisa Gibbs Bynoe, DBE was governor of Grenada between 1967 and 1972....
, Governor of
GrenadaGrenada is an island country and sovereign state consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the...
1968-1974.) She held the Office until 1980.
A particular focus of her mandate was the arts in Ontario. After leaving Office, Mrs. McGibbon was promoted to be a Companion of the Order of Canada, and was appointed to the
Order of OntarioThe Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander,
on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the...
. She died in Toronto in 2001, aged 91. She was buried in the family plot in the Lakeview Cemetery in
Sarnia, OntarioSarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....
.
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