Everything about George Monro Grant totally explained
George Monro Grant (
December 22,
1835 –
May 10,
1902), principal of
Queen's College, Kingston, Ontario, was born in Albion Mines (
Stellarton),
Pictou County Nova Scotia in 1835.
He was educated in
Pictou Academy, and West River in
Nova Scotia, and from
1853 to
1860, in
Scotland at the
University of Glasgow, where he'd a brilliant academic career; and having entered the ministry of the
Church of Scotland in
1861, he returned to serve in
Nova Scotia and
Prince Edward Island, before being called to the
St Matthew's congregation in
Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he was minister from
1863 to
1877. He quickly gained a high reputation as a preacher and as an eloquent speaker on political subjects. In
1867,
Nova Scotia was the province most strongly opposed to federal union. Grant threw the whole weight of his great influence in favour of
Canadian confederation, and his oratory played an important part in securing the success of the movement.
When the consolidation of the Dominion by means of railway construction was under discussion in 1872, Grant travelled from the Atlantic to the Pacific with the engineers, including lifelong friend, Sir
Sanford Fleming, who surveyed the route of the
Canadian Pacific Railway, and his book
Ocean to Ocean (1873) was one of the first things that opened the eyes of Canadians to the value of the immense heritage they enjoyed. He, never lost an opportunity, whether in the pulpit or on the platform, of pressing on his hearers that the greatest future for Canada lay in unity with the rest of the
British Empire; and his broad statesman-like judgment made him an authority which politicians of all parties were glad to consult. He was very involved with the
1875 Union of the four
Presbyterian groups that become the
Presbyterian Church in Canada; not all of his contemporaries in the
Synod of the Presbyterian Church in the Maritime Provinces of British North America joined with him in this new group, that eventually elected him
Moderator of their
General Assembly in
1889.
In
1877 Grant was appointed Principal of
Queen's College in
Kingston, Ontario, by the Third General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in Canada; which through his exertions and influence expanded from a small denominational college into a large and influential educational centre; and he attracted to it an exceptionally able body of professors whose influence in speculation and research was widely felt during the quarter of a century that he remained at its head.
In
1888 he visited
Australia,
New Zealand and
South Africa, the effect of this experience being to strengthen still further the
Imperialism which was the guiding principle of his political opinions. On the outbreak of the
South African War in 1899 Grant was at first disposed to be hostile to the policy of
Lord Salisbury and
Mr. Chamberlain; but his eyes were soon opened to the real nature of
President Kruger's government, and he enthusiastically welcomed and supported the national feeling which sent men from the outlying portions of the
British Empire to assist in upholding British supremacy in South Africa. Grant didn't live to see the conclusion of peace, his death occurred at
Kingston, Ontario on the 10th of May
1902.
At the time of his death
The Times observed;
that it's acknowledged on all hands that in him the Dominion has lost one of the ablest men that it has yet produced. He was the author of a number of works, of which the most notable besides
Ocean to Ocean are,
Advantages of Imperial Federation (1889),
Our National Objects and Aims (1890),
Religions of the World in Relation to Christianity (1894) and volumes of sermons and lectures.
Grant married in 1872; Jessie, daughter of William Lawson of Halifax. His descendants include
George Parkin Grant and
Michael Ignatieff.
Grant Hall, a prominent clock tower and meeting hall at Queen's, is named in his honour.
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