Colonel
Robert Samuel McLaughlin,
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...
,
EDThe Canadian Efficiency Decoration was a Canadian military award given to officers of the non-permanent active militia, RCAF Auxiliary and Reserve who completed twenty years of meritorious military service. Similar Efficiency Decorations were also awarded by other Commonwealth countries. A bar...
,
CDThe Canadian Forces Decoration is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to the Governor General of Canada upon his or her appointment as viceroy, which includes the...
(September 8, 1871 - January 6, 1972) was an influential
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
businessman and philanthropist. He founded the
McLaughlin Motor Car Co.The McLaughlin automobile company began life as the McLaughlin Carriage Company, a blacksmith's shop in the village of Enniskillen, located 20 km north east of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The company began making horse-drawn carriages in the mid 19th Century, moving to Oshawa, Ontario in 1876...
in 1907, one of the first major automobile manufacturers in Canada, which evolved into
General Motors of CanadaGeneral Motors of Canada Limited is the name of General Motors' Canadian division. Its national headquarters office, Canadian Regional Engineering Centre, and main manufacturing plants are located in Oshawa, Ontario. GM Canada is 100% owned by GM.As of Apr...
.
Born near Bowmanville in the hamlet of
EnniskillenEnniskillen is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within Lambton County. The township, comprising the communities of Oil City, Glen Rae and Marthaville, had a population of 3,122 in the Canada 2006 Census...
,
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...
, the son of
Robert McLaughlinRobert McLaughlin was an Ontario manufacturer. He founded the McLaughlin Carriage and McLaughlin Motor Car companies which later became part of General Motors....
, he started working in 1887 for his father's company, McLaughlin Carriage Works, at one time the largest manufacturer of horse-drawn buggies and sleighs in the British Empire.
Colonel
Robert Samuel McLaughlin,
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...
,
EDThe Canadian Efficiency Decoration was a Canadian military award given to officers of the non-permanent active militia, RCAF Auxiliary and Reserve who completed twenty years of meritorious military service. Similar Efficiency Decorations were also awarded by other Commonwealth countries. A bar...
,
CDThe Canadian Forces Decoration is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to the Governor General of Canada upon his or her appointment as viceroy, which includes the...
(September 8, 1871 - January 6, 1972) was an influential
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
businessman and philanthropist. He founded the
McLaughlin Motor Car Co.The McLaughlin automobile company began life as the McLaughlin Carriage Company, a blacksmith's shop in the village of Enniskillen, located 20 km north east of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The company began making horse-drawn carriages in the mid 19th Century, moving to Oshawa, Ontario in 1876...
in 1907, one of the first major automobile manufacturers in Canada, which evolved into
General Motors of CanadaGeneral Motors of Canada Limited is the name of General Motors' Canadian division. Its national headquarters office, Canadian Regional Engineering Centre, and main manufacturing plants are located in Oshawa, Ontario. GM Canada is 100% owned by GM.As of Apr...
.
Born near Bowmanville in the hamlet of
EnniskillenEnniskillen is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within Lambton County. The township, comprising the communities of Oil City, Glen Rae and Marthaville, had a population of 3,122 in the Canada 2006 Census...
,
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...
, the son of
Robert McLaughlinRobert McLaughlin was an Ontario manufacturer. He founded the McLaughlin Carriage and McLaughlin Motor Car companies which later became part of General Motors....
, he started working in 1887 for his father's company, McLaughlin Carriage Works, at one time the largest manufacturer of horse-drawn buggies and sleighs in the British Empire. With engines from
William C. DurantWilliam Crapo "Billy" Durant was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry, the founder of General Motors and Chevrolet who created the system of multi-brand holding companies with different lines of cars....
of
BuickBuick is a marque of automobile sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, Qatar, Kuwait, and Israel by General Motors Company...
he produced the McLaughlin-Buick Model F, establishing The McLaughlin Motor Car Company, incorporated on November 20, 1907. In 1908, its first full year of operation, it produced 154 cars. In 1910 he became a director of General Motors and sold his company in 1918 becoming president of
General Motors of CanadaGeneral Motors of Canada Limited is the name of General Motors' Canadian division. Its national headquarters office, Canadian Regional Engineering Centre, and main manufacturing plants are located in Oshawa, Ontario. GM Canada is 100% owned by GM.As of Apr...
, which continued to sell cars under the McLaughlin-Buick brand until 1942. He retired in 1945, but remained chairman of the board until his death.
He remained on the Board of General Motors until the early 1960's, and was coincidentally replaced by Royal Bank of Canada President
Earle McLaughlinWilliam Earle McLaughlin O.C. was a Canadian banker.Born in Oshawa, Ontario, Earle McLaughlin graduated with the gold medal in commerce from Queen's University and joined the Royal Bank of Canada in 1936. In 1960, at an age considered very young at the time, 45-year-old McLaughlin was appointed...
, his first cousin once removed.
His brother, chemist J.J. McLaughlin, founded the
Canada DryCanada Dry is a brand of soft drinks marketed by Dr Pepper/Seven Up, a unit of Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Canada Dry is best known for its ginger ale, but also manufactures a number of other soft drinks and mixers...
company. After J.J.'s death in 1912, Sam also became President of this company briefly until it was sold about 1917.
McLaughlin was appointed Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the
34th Ontario RegimentThe Ontario Regiment is a Primary Reserve armoured reconnaissance regiment of the Canadian Forces Land Force Command. The unit is based in downtown Oshawa, Ontario...
in 1921 and held this position until 1931, at which time he was appointed Honorary Colonel of same unit, later designated as
The Ontario Regiment (RCAC)The Ontario Regiment is a Primary Reserve armoured reconnaissance regiment of the Canadian Forces Land Force Command. The unit is based in downtown Oshawa, Ontario...
, a reserve armoured regiment based in Oshawa. Affectionately known as "Colonel Sam," McLaughlin served as Honorary Colonel until 1967, earning the distinction as the longest continuously serving Honorary Colonel in the history of the
Canadian ForcesThe Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
. In 1967 Sam McLaughlin was appointed a Companion 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...
.
Philanthropy
In 1951 he established the McLaughlin Foundation which donated nearly $200 million, including the
McLaughlin PlanetariumThe McLaughlin Planetarium is a former working planetarium whose building occupies a space immediately to the south of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, at 100 Queen's Park. Founded by a grant from philanthropist Colonel R. Samuel McLaughlin, the facility was opened to the public on October 26,...
to the
Royal Ontario MuseumThe Royal Ontario Museum, commonly known as the ROM, is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's largest museum of world culture and natural history. The ROM is the fifth largest museum in North America, containing more than six million items and over 40 galleries...
. His mansion,
Parkwood EstateThe Parkwood Estate, located in Oshawa, Ontario Canada was the home of Samuel McLaughlin and was home to the McLaughlins from 1917 until 1972. Construction began in 1916 by the Toronto architectural firm of Pearson and Darling...
, begun in 1916, was designed by the Toronto architectural firm of Darling and Pearson. In 1989, the Parkwood estate was officially designated a National Historic Site.
He was also a major contributor to Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario. The University's Mechanical Engineering Department is housed in McLaughlin Hall which was his donation in 1948. The McLaughlin Hall in the Queen's University's John Deutsch University Centre is also named for him. His wife Adelaide McLaughlin was honoured in 1957 by Queen's, which named the women's residence Adelaide Hall for her.
He provided partial funding to build a college at
York UniversityYork University is a university located in Toronto, Ontario. It is Canada's third-largest university and has produced several of the country's top leaders across the humanities and in sciences such as chemistry, meteorology and space science....
in Toronto. Opened in 1968, it was named McLaughlin College in his honour.
McLaughlin Hall at St. Andrew's College in
Aurora, OntarioAurora is an affluent Canadian town in York Region, approximately 40 km north of Toronto. It is situated on the Oak Ridges Moraine in a part of the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario....
, which he unveiled in 1971 at age 99, is named after him in recognition of his contributions to the school.
McLaughlin also endowed the Regimental Foundation of The Ontario Regiment (RCAC) and quietly paid the salaries of some of the regiment's soldiers during times of severely curtailed government funding.
Thoroughbred horse racing
In his youth, Samuel McLaughlin competed in
cyclingCycling is an activity most commonly performed on a bicycle - when it is it is also referred to as bicycling or simply biking. It is the use of the bicycle, unicycle , tricycles , quadracycles , and other similar wheeled human-powered vehicles for the purpose of transport, as a form of...
and
yachtingYachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other vessels for sporting.-Competitive Sailing:...
and was an
equestrianEquestrianism refers to the skill of riding or driving horses. This broad description includes both use of horses for practical, working purposes as well as recreational activities and competitive sports.-Overview of equestrian activities:...
show jumpingShow jumping, also known as "stadium jumping" or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...
champion at competitions in Canada and the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. His love of horses led to the establishing of
Parkwood StableParkwood 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...
, a thoroughbred horse racing and
breedingHorse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. While feral and wild horses breed successfully without human assistance, planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired...
farm located a few miles north of Oshawa, Ontario.
McLaughlin's horses won numerous races in Canada and in the U.S. his horses won important races including the 1942
Peter Pan StakesThe Peter Pan Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the second week of May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. A Grade II event, it is open to three-year-olds willing to race nine furlongs on the dirt....
at
Belmont ParkBelmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in the hamlet of Elmont, New York, in Nassau County, Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead...
. A three-time winner of Canada's most prestigious race, the
Queen's PlateThe Queen's Plate is North America's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1ΒΌ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each June at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
, in 1934 his future Hall of Fame
coltA colt is a young male horse, under the age of four. The term "colt" is often confused with foal, which refers to a horse of either sex under one year of age....
HorometerHorometer was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by Col. Sam McLaughlin's Parkwood Stable, he was out of the mare Star Pal and sired by Hourless, the 1917 American Co-Champion 3-Yr-Old Male Horse and winner of the Belmont Stakes.Trained by future Canadian Hall of Fame...
won both the Queens Plate and the
Breeders' StakesThe Breeders' Stakes is a Canadian stakes race for Thoroughbred race horses first run in 1889. Since 1959 it has been the third race in the Canadian Triple Crown for three-year-olds...
. In 1950, the nearly eighty-year-old McLaughlin retired from racing, selling his Parkwood Stable to
E. P. TaylorEdward 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...
under whom it would become known as
Windfields FarmWindfields 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...
.
A long-time director of the Ontario Jockey Club, Colonel McLaughlin was inducted into
Canada's Sports Hall of FameCanada'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 was located in Toronto from 1955 and is not currently opened to the public, its collection stored in the...
in 1963 and the
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of FameThe Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1978 located 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....
in 1977.
See also
- General Motors Canada
General Motors of Canada Limited is the name of General Motors' Canadian division. Its national headquarters office, Canadian Regional Engineering Centre, and main manufacturing plants are located in Oshawa, Ontario. GM Canada is 100% owned by GM.As of Apr...
- Parkwood Estate
The Parkwood Estate, located in Oshawa, Ontario Canada was the home of Samuel McLaughlin and was home to the McLaughlins from 1917 until 1972. Construction began in 1916 by the Toronto architectural firm of Pearson and Darling...
- 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...
- The Ontario Regiment (RCAC)
The Ontario Regiment is a Primary Reserve armoured reconnaissance regiment of the Canadian Forces Land Force Command. The unit is based in downtown Oshawa, Ontario...
- Science and technology in Canada
Science and technology in Canada consists of three distinct but closely related phenomena:* the diffusion of technology in Canada,* scientific research in Canada* innovation, invention and industrial research in Canada...
External links