(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Sir Mortimer B. Davis, first Canadian Jew to be knighted, died yesterday at Cannes. He was 62 years old.
Sir Mortimer Davis was born in Montreal in 1866, the son of a cigar maker. He rose to a commanding position in the financial life of Canada and was frequently termed Canada’s “tobacco king” and the “Rockefeller of Canada,” being said to have one of the world’s largest fortunes, estimated at more than $40,000,000.
He was president of the Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada, chairman of the Canadian Industrial Alcohol Company, chairman of the Consolidated Asbestos Company, a director of the United States Rubber Company and the Canadian Consolidated Rubber Company. He was a director of the Royal Bank of Canada and the Crown Trust Company of Montreal.
In 1926 Sir Mortimer donated $250,000 to the East End Y.M.H.A. and $50,000 to the West End Y.M.H.A. of Montreal. His gifts to philanthropic institutions were numerous and it is expected his will may disclose still further donations to hospitals, schools and public institutions.
Maintaining a winter residence in Golfe Juan, France, he was the owner of several race horses which won important stakes in Europe and America. He was the owner of one of the largest racing stables on the Riviera. Sir Mortimer is survived by his second wife who was the Countess Moroni.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
