Robert Young Eaton (1875–1956) was a Canadian businessman and a member of the prominent

Eaton family The Eaton family is a Canadian family of Scottish-Irish Methodist origin. Established in Toronto, the family dynasty began in 1869 when Timothy Eaton (1834–1907) founded Eaton's, which became a national chain of department stores. At its heig ...

. He was a nephew of

Timothy Eaton Timothy Eaton (March 1834 – 31 January 1907) was a Northern Irish-Canadian businessman who founded the Eaton's department store, one of the most important retail businesses in Canada's history. Early life and family He was born in Ballymena, ...

, who established

Eaton's The T. Eaton Company Limited, later known as Eaton's, was a Canadian department store chain that was once the largest in the country. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's g ...

department store.

Life and career

He was born in 1875 to John Eaton and his wife, Margaret Herbison. He was related to the founder of Eaton's department store, as they shared the same grandfather, John Eaton Sr. (1784–1834). He took over control of the Eaton's store business after his cousin, Sir

John Craig Eaton Sir John Craig Eaton (April 28, 1876 – March 30, 1922) was a Canadian businessman and a member of the prominent Eaton family. Life and career He was born in Toronto, Ontario, the youngest son of department store magnate Timothy Eaton and hi ...

, died of pneumonia in 1922. Sir John's children were too young to run the company, so he filled in until one of the children reached an appropriate age to take over. He proved to be an extremely capable president, and he expanded the company tenfold. His cousin-in-law, Lady Eaton, the widow of Sir John, never liked him. Throughout her life, she always referred to her branch of the family as the "owner Eatons" and his branch as the "worker Eatons". Lady Eaton's son,

John David Eaton John David Eaton (4 October 1909 – 4 August 1973) was a Canadian businessman and a member of the Eaton family (Toronto), Eaton family. From 1942–1969, he was president of Eaton's, the department store chain his grandfather, Timothy Eaton, foun ...

, eventually took over the presidency of the company at the age of 33, and R.Y. Eaton retired from business life. He had a resort home named Ireton built in

Port Credit, Ontario Port Credit is a neighbourhood in the south-central part of the City of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Its main intersection is Hurontario Street and Lakeshore Road, ...

, and later in

Georgian Bay The Georgian Bay () is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is t ...

. He also served as president of 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 ...

from 1924 to 1941.

Marriage and children

He married Hazel Ireland (1889–1965), and they had 5 children. His son John Wallace Eaton (1912–1990) worked at Eaton's and ran the Montreal store. His son Captain Erskine Robert Eaton (1915–1942) graduated from the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

in 1934. At the outbreak of

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 ...

, he was a member of the staff at Eaton's Montreal store. He died in the

Dieppe Raid Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was a disastrous Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a ...

on August 19, 1942, at 27 years of age. His name is listed on the Memorial Arch at the Royal Military College of Canada.https://archive.org/details/chstandrewscolle1942stanuoft St. Andrew's College Review, Christmas 1942

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Robert Young Robert Young Eaton Canadian businesspeople in retailing Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent 1956 deaths 1875 births