Frank Patrick O'Connor
Encyclopedia
Frank Patrick O'Connor was a Canadian
politician, businessman, philanthropist. He was the founder of Laura Secord Chocolates
and Fanny Farmer
, and the namesake behind O'Connor Drive in Toronto.
Born in Deseronto
, Ontario
, the son of Mary Eleanor McKeown and Patrick O'Connor, O'Connor quit school at the age of 14 and started working at Canadian General Electric
in Peterborough. He married Mary Ellen Hayes and moved with her to Toronto in 1912. In 1913, he opened the Laura Secord Candy Store on Yonge Street
. He expanded the store across Canada and into the United States where it was known as Fanny Farmer Candy Stores.
A Roman Catholic, he gave $500,000 in the 1930s to the Archdiocese of Toronto under the trusteeship of Cardinal James Charles McGuigan.
In 1935, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Liberal
Prime Minister
William Lyon Mackenzie King
. He represented the senatorial division of Scarborough Junction, Ontario until his death in 1939.
Senator O'Connor College School
, a Toronto Catholic District School Board
high school, was named in his honour.
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...
politician, businessman, philanthropist. He was the founder of Laura Secord Chocolates
Laura Secord Chocolates
Laura Secord is a Canadian chocolatier and ice cream company which was founded in 1913 by Frank P. O'Connor. It was named after the Canadian War of 1812 heroine Laura Secord. As of 2010, it has 125 retail outlets across the country....
and Fanny Farmer
Fanny Farmer
Fanny Farmer was an American candy manufacturer and retailer.Fanny Farmer was started in Rochester, New York by Frank O'Connor in 1919. The company was named in honor of culinary expert Fannie Farmer, who had died four years earlier....
, and the namesake behind O'Connor Drive in Toronto.
Born in Deseronto
Deseronto, Ontario
Deseronto is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, in Hastings County, located on the shore of the Bay of Quinte. The town had a population of 1,824 in the Canada 2006 Census.The town was named for Capt...
, 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....
, the son of Mary Eleanor McKeown and Patrick O'Connor, O'Connor quit school at the age of 14 and started working at Canadian General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
in Peterborough. He married Mary Ellen Hayes and moved with her to Toronto in 1912. In 1913, he opened the Laura Secord Candy Store on Yonge Street
Yonge Street
Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...
. He expanded the store across Canada and into the United States where it was known as Fanny Farmer Candy Stores.
A Roman Catholic, he gave $500,000 in the 1930s to the Archdiocese of Toronto under the trusteeship of Cardinal James Charles McGuigan.
In 1935, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
. He represented the senatorial division of Scarborough Junction, Ontario until his death in 1939.
Senator O'Connor College School
Senator O'Connor College School
Senator O'Connor College School is a Roman Catholic high school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is named after Senator Frank O'Connor, founder of the Laura Secord chocolate company and a generous Catholic philanthropist.- History :...
, a Toronto Catholic District School Board
Toronto Catholic District School Board
The Toronto Catholic District School Board is the publicly-funded Catholic school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, headquartered in North York. It is one of the two English boards of education in the City of Toronto, serving the former municipalities of Scarborough, North York, York, East York,...
high school, was named in his honour.