Peter McGill

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter McGill (August 1789 – September 28 1860) was a Scots-Quebecer businessman who served as mayor of Montreal, Canada East from 1840 to 1842.

He was born Peter McCutcheon in the village of Creebridge, Wigtownshire (now Dumfries and Galloway) in Scotland. In 1821, he changed his name when he became the heir of his uncle John McGill, at the latter's request.

McGill held a seat in the Legislative Council of Lower Canada from 1832 to 1838, the Special Council of Lower Canada from 1838 to 1841, and the Legislative Council of the United Provinces from 1841 to 1860.

He served as president of the Bank of Montreal from 1834 to 1860. He founded the first railway company in Canada in 1834. It is he, rather than James McGill, who is depicted in the stained-glass mural in the McGill station of the Montreal metro, even though the station is named for its proximity to McGill University.

McGill Street in the Vieux-Montréal (Old Montreal) sector is named after him. It is not to be confused with McGill College Ave. near McGill University.

On his passing in 1860, Peter McGill was interred in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery.

[edit] External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

Categories: Quebec politician stubs | 1789 births | 1860 deaths | Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople | Members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada | Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada | Mayors of Montreal | People from Dumfries and Galloway | Scottish immigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec