James McGill (1744-1813), Scottish-Canadian merchant and philanthropist, born in Glasgow, Scotland. McGill attended Glasgow University, but did not graduate. After leaving college he immigrated to the American colonies, where he worked in the fur trade. In the mid-1770s he made Montréal his headquarters and became one of the leading fur traders in Canada. He served two terms in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada (1792-1796, 1800-1804) and in 1793 was appointed to the Executive Council of the province. In the War of 1812 he was a brigadier general. He died in Montréal in December 1813, leaving much of his fortune to found McGill University.
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 13:54:57 +0000
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