Peter Redpath 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...

 businessman and philanthropist, closely associated with Redpath Sugar

Redpath Sugar

Redpath Sugar was an important company in the economic history of Canada.-History:Redpath Sugar was established as the Canada Sugar Refining Company in 1854 in Montreal, Quebec by Scots-Quebecer entrepreneur, John Redpath . Located on the bank of the Lachine Canal, the giant complex was the first...

.

Biography

Redpath was born in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Lower Canada

Lower Canada

The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...

, the son of a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 immigrant, John Redpath

John Redpath

John Redpath was a Scots-Quebecer businessman and philanthropist who helped pioneer the industrial movement that made Montreal, Quebec the largest and most prosperous city in Canada....

, a director of the Bank of Montreal

Bank of Montreal

The Bank of Montreal , , or BMO Financial Group, is the fourth largest bank in Canada by deposits. The Bank of Montreal was founded on June 23, 1817 by John Richardson and eight merchants in a rented house in Montreal, Quebec. On May 19, 1817 the Articles of Association were adopted, making it...

 and a member of the Montreal City Council

Montreal City Council

The Montreal City Council is the governing body of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the City Council. The mayor is Gérald Tremblay, who is a member of the Union des citoyens et des citoyennes de l'Île de Montréal...

.

Redpath worked in the family's sugar refinery

Sugar refinery

A sugar refinery is a factory which refines raw sugar.Many cane sugar mills produce raw sugar, i.e. sugar with more colour and therefore more impurities than the white sugar which is normally consumed in households and used as an ingredient in soft drinks, cookies and so forth...

 and other businesses in Montreal. He was a member of the McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 Board of Governors from 1864 until his death. He endowed a chair of Natural Philosophy at McGill in 1871 and established the Redpath Museum

Redpath Museum

The Redpath Museum is a museum of natural history belonging to McGill University and located on the university's campus at 859 Sherbrooke Street West in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was built in 1882 as a gift from the sugar baron Peter Redpath. It houses collections of interest to ethnology,...

 in 1880.
In the same year, he migrated to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He also founded the Redpath Library

Redpath Library

The Redpath Library was the major arts and humanities library at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. When the McLennan Library was built in 1967-1969 it assumed this role and the Redpath Library was split into Redpath Hall and the Redpath Library--the stack areas...

 at the University in 1893. http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/redpath/images/view.php?id=5907&lang=en&size=3 He donated about half a million dollars in money and books to McGill University.

Family

Peter Redpath married October 16th, 1847, Grace Wood, daughter of William Wood, merchant and philanthropist, of Manchester. She was born at Bowdon, Cheshire, England and educated privately.
The couple lived in Montreal up to their return to Manor House, Chiselhurst, Kent, England, in the 1870s. Mr. Redpath died February 1st, 1894, aged 73. His wife supported his philanthropy. In 1894 she contributed $11,500 for Redpath Museum

Redpath Museum

The Redpath Museum is a museum of natural history belonging to McGill University and located on the university's campus at 859 Sherbrooke Street West in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was built in 1882 as a gift from the sugar baron Peter Redpath. It houses collections of interest to ethnology,...

 expenses and $40,500 for the maintenance of the Redpath Library

Redpath Library

The Redpath Library was the major arts and humanities library at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. When the McLennan Library was built in 1967-1969 it assumed this role and the Redpath Library was split into Redpath Hall and the Redpath Library--the stack areas...

. She funded the building of an additional wing to the Redpath Library at McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

, which was completed in 1894. A portrait and bust of Mr. Redpath, and a portrait of Mrs. Redpath were placed by the governors of McGill University in its main gallery.

External links

• Library History — Peter Redpath from McGill University