Adam beth — Wikipedia

Sir Adam Beck ( June 20, 1857 – August 15, 1925 ) is an Ontario politician and businessman. It is known to have founded the “Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario” (or Ontario Hydro).

Beck was born on June 20, 1857 In Baden, Ontario, German immigrants: Jacob Beck and Charlotte Hespler. He did his schooling at the Rockwood Academy in Rockwood. In adolescence, he worked at the foundry of his father. Subsequently, he opened, with his brother William, a manufacture of cigar boxes in Galt (now Cambridge. In 1885, he moved the company to London. The rapid growth of his factory earned him a reputation as a solid and influential leader.

He got involved in horse breeding and meeting an equestrian show in 1897 Lilian Ottaway in Hamilton. They marry the September 7, 1898 Despite the objection of Lilian’s parents, who underlined the 20 -year gap between their daughter from her future husband (she was 19 and he, 40) and Beck’s interest in horse racing.

Beck was a candidate for the first time in the provincial elections in 1898, but lost. In 1900, he founded the London Health Association , which will be at the origin of the university hospital and the Victoria hospital. In 1902, he was elected mayor of London and, a few months later, was elected to the Ontario Legislative Assembly under the banner of the Ontario Conservative Party. He was re -elected mayor in the 1903 and 1904 elections, accumulating this mandate with his post of provincial deputy. In 1905, he was appointed minister without a portfolio in the government of James P. Whitney.

Electricity nationalization [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Adam Beck is a primary activist in favor of the nationalization of electricity in Ontario. It opposes private companies that control the market, because they do not adequately serve public needs. With English slogans « Power at Cost » and Latin “Grant nature for people are” (“The fruits of nature are for the public”), he convinces Prime Minister Whitney to name him at the head of a commission of inquiry created specially on the subject. The investigation suggests that the provincial government is to create an organization responsible for hydroelectricity which would use the hydraulic potential of Niagara falls and other Ontario lakes and rivers. The system would belong to the various municipalities involved. In 1906, Whitney called Beck at the head of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission , newly created.

He was ennobled by King George V in 1914 for his efforts in favor of electricity and the development of an electricity transport network in Ontario. In 1915, he tried to set up an electric railway network in Ontario, but his plan was put on the uphens due to the First World War. Only a few lines are installed in the regions of London and Toronto. He lost his seat during the 1919 election, won by Hugh Stevenson while the United Farmers of Ontario hunt the conservatives of power.

He is an elected member of the temple of renown of Canadian businessmen.

Personal life [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

After her daughter, born in 1904, suffered from tuberculosis and was treated by the best doctors, Beck became aware of the fact that everyone could not have access to appropriate care in a similar situation. He therefore founded a sanatorium in London, which the Governor General of Canada Earl Gray officially inaugurates the April 5, 1910 .

Lilian Beck dies from cancer October 17, 1921 . In 1923, Beck was re -elected to the Ontario Legislative Assembly. He will sit until his death there, the August 15, 1925 at the age of 68. Former Prime Minister of Canada Arthur Meighen, the former Ontario Prime Minister George Howard Ferguson and the mayor of London George Wenige attended the funeral.

Queenston Chippawa’s power plant, which he contributed to building, was renowned central SIR Adam Beck I, in 1950.

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