Edward Plunket Taylor,
CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989), 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 ...
business tycoon, investor, and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
race horses
Race Horses were a Welsh band based in Cardiff, Wales and originally from Aberystwyth. Formed in 2005 as Radio Luxembourg, they changed their name in 2009 due to possible legal problems with the radio station of the same name. Initially the m ...
, and a major force behind the evolution of the Canadian horse-racing industry. Known to his friends as "Eddie," he is all but universally recorded as "E. P. Taylor".
Early years
Taylor was the first child of Plunket Bourchier Taylor and Florence Magee Taylor. Taylor attended
Ashbury College
Ashbury College is an independent day school, day and boarding school, boarding school located in the Rockcliffe Park area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was originally founded in 1891 by former faculty of Bishop's College School in Quebec to acc ...
and Ottawa Collegiate. During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, his father enlisted and the family moved to
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 ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. After Taylor attempted several times to join the British Army, his father sent him back to
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
to live with his grandfather Charles Magee, a wealthy Ottawa businessman. The time spent with Magee had a profound influence on Taylor, who decided he wanted to be successful in business like Magee. In 1918, Taylor moved to Montreal to attend
McGill University
McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
, having to work part-time to pay his way. That fall, Taylor's studies were interrupted when McGill closed during the
Spanish flu
The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...
pandemic. Returning the next winter, Taylor graduated in 1922 with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree in Mechanical Engineering.
While studying at McGill, Taylor patented an electric toaster design that browned both sides of the bread simultaneously. At that time, toasters toasted only one side of the bread. Taylor sold the patent for a royalty of 40 cents on every toaster to the Thomas Davidson Manufacturing Co. of Montreal. Taylor decided during college that he did not want to pursue engineering, finding that he was more interested in business and economics. After graduation, Taylor returned to Ottawa, where he and Lawrie Hart operated a two-vehicle bus line between Westboro and Ottawa. Taylor and Hart sold the bus line after a year, and Taylor joined the investment brokerage firm of
McLeod Young Weir
McLeod, Young, Weir & Co. Limited, and after 1977, McLeod Young Weir Limited, was a Canadian investment brokerage that operated from 1921 to 1988. The firm grew to become one of the country's largest brokerage houses and provided services includi ...
(now ScotiaMcLeod) that his father worked for.
In 1926, Taylor met Winifred Duguid while at a social event at the Chaudiere Golf Club. They were married on June 15, 1927, at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa, honeymooned in Lake Placid, and settled into their first residence at the Strathcona Apartments on Laurier Avenue in Ottawa.
Business
Taylor's grandfather Charles Magee was a successful businessman in Ottawa, holding interests in brewing, dry goods, and transportation. Magee died in 1918, leaving the family businesses to his brother and his daughters Carrie and Taylor's mother. In 1923, Taylor was made a director of the Brading Brewery, one of the family businesses, and which his father was president. On the side of selling securities and the brewing business, Taylor organized the Red Line Taxi Company in 1923. Like the bus line, it was sold after a year. That established the pattern in business that Taylor would follow, conceiving and developing ideas, and then persuading others to buy them. Taylor remained with McLeod, Young, Weir and became a partner in 1928. In 1928, Taylor and Winifred moved to Toronto, getting an apartment on University Avenue, conveniently close to the McLeod, Young, Weir offices in the Metropolitan Building.
In the 1920s, Brading Brewery was limited by temperance laws. While it operated in Ontario, it could sell only into Quebec. That changed in 1927, when the Conservative government in Ontario ended
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
. At the suggestion of Taylor, the company "traded on its equity" and rebuilt its plant, modernizing it and increasing capacity by 50%. Taylor studied the brewing business in Ontario. In 1928, there were 37 breweries. They operated at below capacity and many were in need of modernization. They were not profitable in general and had only in sales on assets of . Quebec was dominated by three breweries; one of them, National Breweries, had consolidated 14 breweries that had operated before World War I. Taylor proposed a similar strategy to Brading's board of directors: acquire and merge with successful breweries in Ontario, and acquire and close other breweries to bring under its control some 70% of the volume of beer sold in Ontario.
The stock market crash of 1929 affected Taylor in two ways. On the one hand, the underwriting business virtually ceased. However, it left Taylor free to pursue the brewery acquisition plan although now Taylor could offer only Brading Brewery shares in its acquisitions. Taylor fortuitously met Clark Jennison, who was acting for British interests interested in investing in Canadian breweries at the same time and had to invest. The two incorporated a new firm, Brewing Corporation of Ontario, and merged the Brading and Kuntz breweries and the British interests into common and preferred shares. Another company, Canadian Brewery Corporation Limited, had also begun acquiring breweries in Ontario. Taylor approached the company and successfully negotiated a merger in 1930. Later in 1930, Taylor successfully took over the Carling Brewery, which had become majority-owned by the Dominion Bank, for repayable at $100,000 per year. In all, Taylor merged more than 20 other small breweries into
Canadian Breweries Limited
Canadian Breweries Limited (CBL), originally the Brewing Corporation of Ontario, was an Ontario-based holding company in the brewing industry. The company was founded in 1930 by a merger of two breweries, Brading of Ottawa and Kuntz of Kitchener- ...
, which grew to be the world's largest brewing company. Taylor would eventually gain operating control of the holding company.
Taylor described his consolidation approach as "trading pieces of paper for other pieces of paper." At times, he was so cash poor that a legend had him passing cheques back and forth between two bank accounts in Montreal and Toronto to meet payroll. He later recalled it as "a period of hectic finance." His liquidity situation eased after prohibition ended. After 1934, Taylor implemented a number of changes to make the brewing sales and marketing respectable by firing the old-school "runners" who profited by selling to
bootleggers
A bootleg is the upper part (or shaft) of a boot.
Bootleg, bootlegging or bootlegger(s) may also refer to:
Common meanings
* Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages
* Moonshine, illicitly made an ...
and replacing them with salesmen who were encouraged to become community leaders. He also consolidated the number of brands offered from over 100 to just six.
Taylor became involved in the soft drink industry through the acquisition of brewers, who had diversified into soft drinks during prohibition. Unable to spin off the soft drinks at first, Taylor first worked on building them into a business suitable for sale. Taylor purchased control of the Canadian
Orange Crush
Crush is a brand of carbonated soft drinks owned and marketed internationally by Keurig Dr Pepper, originally created as an orange soda, Orange Crush. It was created in 1911, 30 years before Coca-Cola's Fanta, by beverage and extract chemist ...
company and then taking control of its subsidiary
Honey Dew. Honey Dew had multiple retail locations, which Taylor restyled and relocated to increase their profitability. That formed the core of his "food empire," which included over 100 stores by 1950 (not including his subsequent interest in Dominion grocery stores). Taylor spun off Honey Dew as a separate company, which later became Canadian Food Products.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Taylor was a volunteer executive in the
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...
's war effort. He was appointed by
C. D. Howe
Clarence Decatur Howe (15 January 1886 – 31 December 1960) was an American-born Canadian engineer, businessman and Liberal Party politician. Howe served as a cabinet minister in the governments of prime ministers William Lyon Mackenzie ...
, the Minister of Munitions and Supply, to the executive committee of the Department of Munitions and Supply and would be appointed by
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
to run the British Supply Council in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. He came close to losing his life when, in December 1940, the ship he was on was torpedoed while crossing the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
. At the time, regulations were such that convoys did not stop to rescue survivors of a sinking ship. Taylor and others, including Howe and Bill Woodward, were rescued by a merchant vessel that had lost its convoy. A destroyer appeared, gave permission to save them, and circled the rescue to ward off any submarines.
In 1941, Taylor clashed with
Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...
, who had called for a wartime curtailment of beer drinking and advertising. Taylor sent a letter to the ''
Ottawa Journal
The ''Ottawa Journal'' was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from 1885 to 1980.
It was founded in 1885 by A. Woodburn as the ''Ottawa Evening Journal''. Its first editor was John Wesley Dafoe who came from the ...
'' calling that position "un-British and therefore undemocratic."
Through his war-time service, Taylor became connected to top businessmen from across Canada and around the world. For his wartime service, he was appointed a
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...
in 1946. At war's end, he founded
Argus Corporation
The Argus Corporation was an investment holding company based in Toronto, Ontario. During the 1960s and 1970s, it was the most powerful and best known conglomerate in Canada, at one time controlling the companies making up 10 percent of all shar ...
, becoming the investment company's majority shareholder by rolling Canadian Breweries stock into the new entity. Over the years, he gained control or had significant positions in many of his country's largest companies such as Canadian Food Products,
Massey-Harris
Massey Ferguson is an agricultural machinery manufacturer, established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson-Brown Company, Ferguson Company of Ireland. It was based in Coventry then moved t ...
, Standard Chemical,
Dominion Stores,
British Columbia Forest Products
Catalyst Paper Corporation is a Pulp and paper industry in Canada, pulp and paper company based in Richmond, British Columbia. It operates five pulp mills and paper mills, producing a combined 1.8 million tonnes of paper and 491,000 tonnes of ma ...
Limited,
Dominion Tar & Chemical Co.,
Standard Broadcasting Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
, and
Hollinger Mines
The Hollinger Gold Mine was discovered on October 9, 1909, by Benny Hollinger, who found the gold-bearing quartz dike that later became known as Hollinger Mines. With his friend, professional Prospecting, prospector Alex Gillies, Hollinger had trav ...
. During the highest point of his career, he was one of Canada's richest people.
In 1950, Taylor said of his position in Canadian industry, "I simply own the largest piece of the largest piece." According to ''
Maclean's Magazine
''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...
'', he owned 5/17 of Argus Corp.'s common stock at the time, giving him effective control of the company. In turn, Argus owned 3/10 of Standard Chemical (
Javex, Goderich Salt, etc.). Standard Chemical owned 9/20 of Dominion Tar and Chemical (Sifto Salt, Ace-Tex,
Fiberglas, etc.). Through the series of ownership shares, Taylor effectively controlled Dominion Tar even though his personal interest in the voting stock amounted to only about 4%.
Taylor traveled extensively to manage his sprawling business interests and flew each month to the Cleveland headquarters of his Brewing Corporation of America. From there, he headed to New York, where he spent much of his time associating with
Floyd Odlum
Floyd Bostwick Odlum (March 30, 1892 – June 17, 1976) was an American lawyer and industrialist. He has been described as "possibly the only man in the United States who made a great fortune out of the Depression", referring to the Great Depre ...
of
Atlas Corporation
The Atlas Corporation is an American investment firm that was formed in 1928.
History
Atlas corporation was formed in 1928, in a merger of the United Corporation, an investment firm started in 1923 with $40,000, with Atlas Utilities and Investo ...
, an investment company that served as the prototype for Argus. He would then travel to Montreal and back to Toronto again. His executives were expected to make their reports rapidly, with meetings scheduled at 15-minute intervals. He valued energy, judgement and the ability to get along with others, once saying that a genius is more trouble than he's worth.
In 1948, Taylor and a small group of fellow alumni established the ''McGill University Alma Mater Fund'', inviting all graduates to give annual donations and thereby "make of themselves a living endowment."
Taylor also pioneered the concept of gated communities in exotic places. In 1957, the Bahamian government passed the ''Lyford Cay Development Company, Limited, Agreement and Road Diversion Act 1957'' providing for the development of land in western
New Providence
New Providence is the most populous island in The Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. On the eastern side of the island is the national capital, national capital city of Nassau, Bahamas, Nassau; it had a population of 246 ...
by the company and Taylor and for the diversion of West Bay Street to accommodate it. Taylor founded the highly-exclusive
Lyford Cay
Lyford Cay is a private gated community located on the western tip of New Providence island in the Bahamas. The former cay that lent its name to the community is named after Captain William Lyford Jr., a mariner of note in Colonial and Revolutio ...
gated community in 1959 and its Lyford Cay Club on New Providence island in the
Bahamas
The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...
. The Lyford Cay Club is home to some of the world's wealthiest people.
In 1975, the Argus Corporation became the target of a takeover by
Power Corporation
Power Corporation of Canada is a management and holding company that focuses on financial services in North America, Europe and Asia. Its core holdings are insurance, retirement, wealth management and investment management, including a portfolio ...
. Taylor sold his non-voting shares to Power Corp and held his voting shares for one year to allow his Argus partners to purchase them. The partners did not take them up. In 1976, Taylor retired from Argus Corporation, selling his 10% share of the voting shares to Power Corporation.
Thoroughbred racing
While a student at Montreal's McGill University in 1918, Taylor was introduced to the sport of
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 ...
at
Blue Bonnets Raceway. As a businessman in the 1930s he established Cosgrave Stable to race horses, which notably owned and raced the future (2000)
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 ...
filly Mona Bell, winner of the 1938
Breeders' Stakes
The Breeders' Stakes is a stakes race for Thoroughbred race horses foaled in Canada, first run in 1889. Since 1959, it has been the third race in the Canadian Triple Crown for three-year-olds. Held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in ...
and
Maple Leaf Stakes
The Maple Leaf Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Run during the first part of November, the Grade III Maple Leaf is open to fillies aged three or older. Raced over a distance of one ...
.
After the second World War, Taylor became steadily more involved in horse racing as an owner, breeder and organizer. In the latter role, he transformed the Ontario racing scene in the 1950s much the way he had earlier transformed the brewing industry. "Our sport wasn't keeping up with the progress made in other areas," he once said. "We had too many tracks... our patronage was falling, we had low purses and many bad horses, and I was afraid that racing might die here as it did in Quebec." Instead of operating fourteen racetracks each with 14-day race meetings, he concentrated the industry in Toronto and
Fort Erie
Fort Erie is a town in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada. The town is located at the south eastern corner of the region, on the Niagara River, directly across the Canada–United States border from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of ...
. In 1956, he opened "new" Woodbine racetrack on the outskirts of Toronto while renovating "old" Woodbine (subsequently renamed Greenwood racetrack).
New Woodbine developed into a world-class venue, especially when Taylor convinced
Penny Chenery
Helen Bates "Penny" Chenery (January 27, 1922 – September 16, 2017) (married names: Penny Tweedy until 1974 and later Penny Ringquist until 1980) was an American sportswoman who bred and owned Secretariat (horse), Secretariat, the 1973 winner o ...
to have
Secretariat
Secretariat may refer to:
* Secretariat (administrative office)
* Secretariat (horse)
Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...
make his final start in the
Canadian International in 1973. Taylor was the founder of the Jockey Club of Canada and served as the president of the Thoroughbred Racing Association in the United States.
Taylor and his wife began breeding thoroughbreds in the 1950s. He first purchased a property in Toronto that he named
Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm was a six square kilometre (1,500 acre) Thoroughbred Stud farm, horse breeding farm that was founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
Origin
The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor o ...
. He then acquired
Parkwood Stable Parkwood Stable was a thoroughbred racing stable founded in the early 1930s, located at Conlin Road and Simcoe Street North a few miles north of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Owned by the wealthy automobile maker Col. Sam McLaughlin, a long-time direc ...
in
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...
, which he first renamed as the National Stud and was later called Windfields Farm. Determined to raise the standard of Canadian breeding stock, Taylor imported several stallions from the United States. The most notable of these was
Chop Chop, who went on to sire four Queen's Plate winners for Taylor including
Canadiana
Canadiana is a term used to describe things (e.g., books, historical documents, works of art, music and artifacts), ideas, or activities that concern or are distinctive of Canada, its peoples, and/or its culture, especially works of literature ...
and
Victoria Park, who also became a leading Canadian sire.
The Taylor thoroughbred horse breeding operation produced
Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred that, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. After being retired from racing, he became one of the most successful Stallion, sires of the 2 ...
, who in 1964 became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...
. Northern Dancer then became arguably the greatest sire and
sire of sires of the 20th century, whose impact on the breed is still felt worldwide. In 1970, Taylor was the world's leading horse breeder measured by money won. He was voted Thoroughbred racing's man of the year in 1973 and the following year was elected to
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...
. In 1977 and 1983 he was named the winner of the
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor for breeders. Created in 1971, it is part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually.
Its Canadian counterpart is the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Br ...
in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. Taylor's horses won 15
Queen's Plate
The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate from 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race and the oldest continuously run race in North America, having been founded in 1860. It is run at a distance of for a ma ...
races and were named
Canadian Horse of the Year
The Canadian Horse of the Year is a thoroughbred horse racing honour given annually since 1951 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is the most prestigious honour in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing.
Part of the Sovereign Awards program since 1975, ...
nine times.
Residences

Windfields Estate was Taylor's main residence and was situated at 2489 Bayview Avenue, in
North York
North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...
, now in Toronto. It is now the site of the
Canadian Film Centre
The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded in 1988 by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally launched as a film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for ...
. The estate has been preserved as a heritage site. The
Canadian royal family often stayed at Windfields when they visited Toronto. The last royals to stay there were
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of K ...
, in the summers of 1974 and 1981, and
Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
and
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
. There were many maids, two gardeners and a house manager who worked at the residence.
In 1963, Taylor moved to the Bahamas to take advantage of the warm climate and its inheritance tax laws. He lived in the gated community he had built called
Lyford Cay
Lyford Cay is a private gated community located on the western tip of New Providence island in the Bahamas. The former cay that lent its name to the community is named after Captain William Lyford Jr., a mariner of note in Colonial and Revolutio ...
. He died there in 1989 at the age of 88. A friend of US President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
, in December 1962, the President stayed at Taylor's home in Lyford Cay while he held talks with British Prime Minister
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...
.
His son, journalist and author
Charles P. B. Taylor, died in 1997 at 62, after a nine-year battle with cancer.
Legacy
Taylor's legacy lives on in various communities.
* The ''E.P. Taylor Research Library and Archives'' in the
Art Gallery of Ontario
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...
,
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Canada, was named after him in honour of his term as President of the (then) Art Gallery of Toronto, from 1957 to 1959.
* In the
North York
North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...
region there is ''E.P. Taylor Place'', a
seniors residence.
**Also on York Mills Road are ''Windfields Restaurant'', a popular family establishment, and ''Windfields Place'', a pair of apartment buildings.
*He has a pub named after him in
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...
, Ontario on the campus of
Durham College
Durham College is a public college in Ontario, Canada, with two main campuses in Oshawa and Whitby. Durham College offers over 145+ academic programs, including six bachelor degrees and eleven apprenticeship programs, to around 13,700 full-ti ...
/
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
The University of Ontario Institute of Technology, branded as Ontario Tech University or Ontario Tech, is a public research university located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is located on approximately of land in northe ...
in the Student Centre, called ''
E.P. Taylor's Pub and Restaurant''.
* E.P. Taylor was inducted into the
Ontario Sports Hall of Fame
The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame is an association dedicated to honouring athletes and personalities with outstanding achievement in sports in Ontario, Canada. The hall of fame was established in 1994 by Bruce Prentice, following his 15-year tenure ...
in 1996.
* The E. P. Taylor turf course at Woodbine, opened in 1994 and considered one of North America's finest, is named in his honour.
References
Bibliography
*
*
April 2, 1962 ''Sports Illustrated'' story on Edward Plunket Taylor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, E. P.
1901 births
1989 deaths
20th-century Canadian businesspeople
Businesspeople from Ottawa
Canadian brewers
Canadian emigrants to the Bahamas
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees
Canadian racehorse owners and breeders
Eclipse Award winners
McGill University Faculty of Engineering alumni
Sportspeople from Ottawa
Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
Canadian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
Owners of King's Plate winners
Ashbury College alumni
Delta Upsilon members