Sir William Maxwell (Lord Beaverbrook) Aitken
Born: May 25, 1879
Died: June 9, 1964
Place of Birth: Maple, Ontario
Major Notes:
Max Aitken was to become a multi-millionaire by 32, but at the age of 20, he was basically broke.
Born in Ontario, his father was a minister who moved the family to Newcastle, New Brunswick, when Aitken was an infant.
Around the age of 12, Aitken was organizing youths to deliver newspapers for him.
He founded Canada Cement Company by successfully merging several other companies giving him a monopoly with that product.
Often smiling and cheerful, Max Aitken had the ability to ingratiate himself with other people.
He also was able to forge a merger which created Stelco of Canada.
In 1910, Aitken sold his shares in Canada Cement; some say at inflated values.
Prior to WWI, he moved to England because of the business opportunities at the time.
He became friends with another New Brunswicker in England, Bonar Law, who became the only Canadian to be Prime Minister of Great Britain.
With Law's help, Aitken entered politics and was elevated to the House of Lords in 1917 and became known as "Lord Beaverbrook".
When WWI started, Max Aitken returned to Canada and offered his services to the Canadian government.
Aitken established the Canadian War Records Office in London.
His contributions to the recording of the history of Canada in WWI is praised by historians today.
Aitken or Lord Beaverbrook, as he was now known, became a newspaper baron after WWWI seeing how much influence could be made through the written word.
When World War II came about, Aitken became a member of Winston Churchill's cabinet and was responsible for
increasing production for the war effort.
After WWII, Max Aitken spent much of his time and effort in his home province and made
many financial contributions to civic and university programs.
Lord Beaverbrook is one of New Brunswick's most famous sons.
For detailed research and more information, check out the following:
The Beaverbrook Foundation
For King and Empire
Spartacus Educational
Wikipedia
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Last Updated: February 18, 2011
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