Sir Donald Mann was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 railway

Rail transport

Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

 contractor and entrepreneur.

Born at Acton, Ontario

Acton, Ontario

Acton is a community located in the Town of Halton Hills, in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada.Acton is located on Highway 7 and the former Highway 25. Acton is served by GO Transit bus service on the Georgetown line corridor.-History:Acton was first named Danville when Settler Wheeler Green opened...

, Mann studied as a Methodist minister but worked in lumber camps in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 and Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 before moving to Winnipeg, Manitoba. During the 1880s he worked as a contractor under Chief Engineer James Ross

James Ross (Canadian businessman)

James L. Ross , was a Scottish-born Canadian civil engineer and businessman, who developed his fortune in railway construction.-Early life:...

, building sections of the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

 across the prairies and through the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...

.

Partnering with William Mackenzie

William Mackenzie (railway entrepreneur)

Sir William Mackenzie was a Canadian railway contractor and entrepreneur.Born near Peterborough, Ontario, Mackenzie became a teacher and politician before entering business as the owner of a sawmill and gristmill in Kirkfield, Ontario...

, Mann built railway lines in western Canada

Western Canada

Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...

, Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, and China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. In 1895, together with Mackenzie he began the process of purchasing and building the lines in western Canada which would later become the Canadian Northern Railway

Canadian Northern Railway

The Canadian Northern Railway is a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its demise in 1923, when it was merged into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.-Manitoba beginnings:CNoR had its start in...

 (CNoR), a system which would stretch from Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

 to Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....

 and form Canada's second transcontinental railway system.

Both Mann and Mackenzie were knighted in 1911 for their efforts in the Canadian railway industry; however, personal and company financial difficulties eventually resulted in the bankruptcy

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

 of the CNoR. It was nationalized by the federal government on September 6, 1918, and ultimately became part of the Canadian National Railway

Canadian National Railway

The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....

.

He is also known for donating the Mann Cup

Mann Cup

The Mann Cup is the trophy awarded to the senior men's lacrosse champions of Canada. The championship series is played between the Western Lacrosse Association champion and the Major Series Lacrosse champion...

. The Mann Cup is the trophy awarded to the senior men's lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

 champions of Canada. The cup is made of solid gold, and it was donated in 1910.

Mann turned to mining and died in Toronto, Ontario. Mann died in 1934 at the age of 81.