Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto

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Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a famous cemetery located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

In the early 19th century, the only authorized cemeteries within the city of Toronto (then known as York) were limited to the members of either the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church. Deceased citizens who did not belong to either of these Christian denominations had no choice but to find burial arrangements outside of the city.

In 1873, a new cemetery available to all citizens was conceived. Originally a 200 acre (0.8 km²) farm, on the far outskirts of Toronto, Mount Pleasant Cemetery opened on November 4, 1876, resplendent with more than twelve miles (19 km) of carriage drives along rolling hills and blue lakes filled with ducks and swans.

The Timothy Eaton family crypt

With the growth in population, today the cemetery is located in the centre of the city. While the watercourses have since been filled in, the cemetery still has many miles of walking paths, interspersed with fountains, statues, botanical gardens, and rare and distinct trees.

As the final resting place of more than 168,000 persons, Mount Pleasant Cemetery contains remarkable architecture amongst its many monuments.

[edit] Notable interments

Veterans

William George 'Billy' Barker, VC, DSO & Bar, MC & Two Bars (1894-1930), LCOL, 201 Squadron, RAF. World War I flying ace, Victoria Cross recipient
George Fraser Kerr, VC, MC & Bar, MM (1895-1929), CAPT, 3rd battalion (Toronto) Central Ontario Regiment, CEF. World War I Victoria Cross recipient

Medicine Personalities

Frederick Banting (1891-1941) & Charles Best (1899-1978), co-discoverers of insulin
Bertha Harmer (1880-1934), prominent Canadian/American nurse
Jennie Smillie Robertson (1878-1981), Canada's first female surgeon

Music Personalities

Bobby Gimby (1918 - 1998) Writer of the Expo 67 theme: Ca-na-da
Glenn Gould (1932-1982), musician, pianist, composer, musical theorist
Gerhard Heintzman, Heintzman & Co. piano manufacturer
Alexander Muir (1830-1906), author of The Maple Leaf Forever (1867), Canada's early (unofficial) National Anthem
Joseph Mulgrew, Hard Core Logo lead singer and frontman

Businesspeople

The Massey Family crypt

Alfred Ernest Ames (1867-1934), stockbroker, founder of A.E. Ames & Co.
Alfred J. Billes (1902-1995), cofounder of Canadian Tire
George Montegu Black II (1911-1976), president of Canadian Breweries
Matthew James Boylen (1907-1970)< mining magnate, racehorse owner
George Albertus Cox (1840-1914), businessman, Senator
Robert T. Davies (1849-1916), businessman, racehorse owner
Timothy Eaton (1834-1907), department store magnate
James Henry Gundy (1880-1951), stockbroker, co-founder of Wood Gundy Inc.
Henry R. Jackman, businessman and politician
Albert Edward Kemp (1858-1929), businessman and politician
Hart Massey (1823-1896), businessman
William McMaster (1811-1887), banker, statesman, a founder of McMaster University
Ryland H. New (1888-1979), businessman, racehorse owner
Frederick Nicholls (businessman) (1856-1921), businessman, founded the first electric power company in Canada
Edward S. Rogers, Sr. (1900-1939), founder of Rogers Communications
Thomas Alexander Russell (1877-1940), automobile manufacturer
Steve Stavro (1928-2006), businessman, horse breeder, former owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs
Joseph Shepard II, businessman
Robert Simpson (1834-1897), department store magnate
George Weston (1864-1924), businessman, founder of George Weston Limited
W. Garfield Weston (1898-1978), businessman

Politicians

James Cox Aikins (1823-1904), politician
Frederick G. Gardiner (1895–1983), politician
William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874-1950), Prime Minister of Canada
Egerton Ryerson (1803-1882), minister, educator, politician, and public education advocate
Clifford Sifton, politician
Howard P. Whidden, clergyman, Parliamentaian, Chancellor of McMaster University

Premiers of Ontario: