Memorable Manitobans: John Aird (1855-1938)

Banker.

Born Longueil, Quebec, 15 November 1885, son of William and Margaret Aird. Educated at Toronto Model School. Engaged in railway work for six years and in banking for thirty-one.

He was manager of the Commerce Bank in Winnipeg from 1899 to 1908, and superintendent of Western Canadian operations from 1908 to 1911 before returning to Toronto. Knighted in 1917, he chaired the Aird Commission on Radio Broadcasting in 1928-1929. The Aird Commission recommended the nationalization of broadcasting in Canada, leading to the establishment of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, which in 1936 became the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Aird was married to Eleanor Lawlor Johnston, with whom he had three sons and three daughters, one of whom married F. F. Carruthers. He was a member of the Toronto Club, Manitoba Club, St. Charles Country Club, and Carleton Club. His recreations including golf, curling, bowling, and lacrosse. Address: 432 Assiniboine Avenue, Winnipeg.

Sources:

Who’s Who in Western Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of Western Canada, Volume 1, 1911. C. W. Parker, editor. Canadian Press Association, Vancouver.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by J. M. Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

Profile revised: 29 December 2009

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