Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Robert Samuel McLaughlin, (September 8, 1871 – January 6, 1972) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

businessman and philanthropist. He started the McLaughlin Motor Car Company in 1907, one of the first major automobile manufacturers in Canada, which evolved into General Motors of Canada. McLaughlin lived to the age of 100.

Life and career

McLaughlin was born near Bowmanville in the hamlet of

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, the son of Robert McLaughlin and Mary Smith."The McLaughlins - Sleighs, Buggys, Cars and Ginger Ale". ''The Clarington Promoter'', September 2016, pages 1 and 4. by Myno Van Dyke As a young man, he worked for a short time in a local hardware store, then in 1887 became an apprentice in the upholstery shop of his father's company, McLaughlin Carriage Works, which had opened in 1867 and at one time was the largest manufacturer of horse-drawn buggies and sleighs in the British Empire. In 1890, McLaughlin took a job at H. H. Babcock, an upholstery company in Watertown, New York. In 1892, McLaughlin and his brother George become junior partners in their father's company. In 1898, he married Adelaide Mowbray. With engines from William C. Durant of

Buick Buick () is a division (business), division of the Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobil ...

, 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 General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

. He sold his Chevrolet company stock in 1918 and became president of General Motors of Canada, 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 in 1972. He continued to serve on the board of

until the early 1960s, and was coincidentally replaced by Royal Bank of Canada president Earle McLaughlin, his first cousin once removed. His older brother, chemist John J. McLaughlin (1865–1914), founded the Canada Dry company. After his brother's death in 1914, McLaughlin became president of this company briefly until it was sold around 1923. His mansion, Parkwood Estate, 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 by the federal government, on the recommendation of the national Historic Sites and Monuments Board.

Honours and awards

McLaughlin was appointed as honorary lieutenant-colonel of the 34th Ontario Regiment in 1921. He held this position until 1931, at which time he was appointed as honorary colonel of the same unit, later designated as The Ontario Regiment (RCAC), a reserve armoured regiment based in Oshawa. Affectionately known as "Colonel Sam", McLaughlin served as honorary colonel until 1967, thereby becoming the longest continuously-serving colonel in the history of the

Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

. In 1967, McLaughlin was appointed a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

Philanthropy

Parkwood Estate National Historic Site of Canada 2007

In 1951, he established the McLaughlin Foundation which, from 1953 to 2003, donated nearly $200 million to the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and other causes, including the McLaughlin Planetarium at the Royal Ontario Museum. McLaughlin was a major contributor to

Queen's University at Kingston Queen's University at Kingston, commonly known as Queen's University or simply Queen's, is a public university, public research university in Kingston, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Queen's holds more than of land throughout Ontario and ...

, Ontario. The university's Mechanical Engineering Department is housed in McLaughlin Hall, which was his donation in 1948. McLaughlin Hall in 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. In 1947 McLaughlin and his wife donated land for a Boy Scout camp on the outskirts of Oshawa. The camp was named "Camp Samac". McLaughlin donated $1 million to the 1968 library building at the University of Guelph, which bears his name. He provided partial funding to build a college at York University in Toronto. Opened in 1968, it was named McLaughlin College in his honour. McLaughlin Hall at St. Andrew's College in Aurora, Ontario, which he unveiled in 1971 at age 99, is named after him in recognition of his contributions to the school. He 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. McLaughlin House at the Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific also bears his name. He gave generously to the art community. Among other gifts, he gave Lawren Harris`s ''Pic Island'', Arthur Lismer`s ''Bright Land'', and Emily Carr`s ''Old Tree at Dusk'' to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg.

Thoroughbred horse racing

In his youth, McLaughlin competed in

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

and yachting, and he was an equestrian show jumping champion at competitions in Canada and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. His love of horses led to the establishment of Parkwood Stable, a

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...

and breeding 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 Stakes at Belmont Park. A three-time winner of Canada's most prestigious race, the Queen's Plate, in 1934 his future Hall of Fame colt Horometer won both the Queen's Plate and the Breeders' Stakes. In 1950, the nearly eighty-year-old McLaughlin retired from racing, selling his Parkwood Stable to E. P. Taylor, under whom it would become known as Windfields Farm. A long-time director of the Ontario Jockey Club, McLaughlin was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1963 and the

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness racing, harness and Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine ...

in 1977.

References

External links