Charles Smith ("C.S.") Hyman, (August 31, 1854 – October 8, 1926) was a Canadian businessman, notable politician, and sportsman. He was a popular tennis player and won a record five Canadian Opens, until broken by

Ivan Lendl Ivan Lendl (; born March 7, 1960) is a Czech-American former professional tennis player and coach. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, he was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis ...

with six titles.

Early life and business

Born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

, the son of Ellis Walton Hyman, a tanner and entrepreneur, and Annie Maria Niles, he was educated at Hellmuth Academy in London and then started a shoe factory with his father in 1874. In 1876, he married Elizabeth Birrell, and for two years, they had an Idlewyld mansion built, which is now an inn. Hyman was president of the London Board of Trade from 1881 to 1882. In 1916, He built a summer estate in Port Stanley, Ontario on the shore of Lake Erie. He was also a tannery owner.

Politics

Hyman was elected to the London city council in 1882 and was mayor in 1884. He first ran as a Liberal candidate against

John Carling Sir John Carling, (January 23, 1828 – November 6, 1911) was a Canadian politician and prominent businessman who was associated with the Carling Brewery in London, Ontario. The Carling family and its descendants later resided in Ottawa, M ...

for the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in the 1887 election for the riding of

and was defeated. Hyman ran again in

1891 Events January * January 1 ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new African territories. * January 4 – The Earl of Zetland issues a ...

and was elected, but the election was declared void, and he was defeated in the resulting 1892 by-election. After losing again in

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

, he was elected in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

and was re-elected in

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

. From 1904 to 1905, he was a minister without portfolio. From 1905 to 1907, he was the Minister of Public Works. He resigned in 1907. He died in 1926 and was buried at Woodland Cemetery in London.

Sports

Hyman was an early Canadian tennis champion, capturing the national tennis championship (which has since evolved into the current Rogers Cup) five times in singles – in 1884 and each year from 1886 through 1889. (Only

surpassed this, winning six titles from 1980 to 1989.) Hyman also captured two doubles titles, the 1886 final partnering I.F. Hellmuth, and the 1889 final playing alongside R.S. Wood. (No one has ever won a total of seven titles.) Hyman was also an early captain of the

Canada national cricket team The Canada men's national cricket team represents Canada in international cricket. The team is administered by Cricket Canada, which became an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1968. With the United States, Canad ...

, quite possibly when on its 1887 England Tour. Hyman is said to have introduced the game

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

to Canada.

Electoral record

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hyman, Charles 19th-century male tennis players 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Businesspeople from London, Ontario Canadian Anglicans Canadian male tennis players Liberal Party of Canada MPs Mayors of London, Ontario Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Sportspeople from London, Ontario 1854 births 1926 deaths Cricketers from Ontario 19th-century Canadian businesspeople Canadian sportsperson-politicians 19th-century mayors of places in Ontario 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada