Richard B. Angus
Richard Bladworth Angus | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Bathgate, Scotland |
| Died | September 17, 1922 (aged 91) |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, financier, philanthropist |
| Known for | Vice-president of Canadian Pacific Railway; President of Bank of Montreal; philanthropy in Montreal |
Richard Bladworth Angus (28 May 1831 – 17 September 1922) was a prominent Scottish-Canadian banker, financier, and philanthropist. He played a key role in founding the Canadian Pacific Railway and held the position of vice-president. Additionally, he served as president of the Bank of Montreal, the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, and the Montreal Art Association. Angus also co-established and led the Mount Royal Club as its president. Despite being the natural choice to succeed Lord Mount Stephen as CPR president in 1888, he declined the appointment and turned down a knighthood on two occasions. The CPR Angus Shops and a later vessel of CP Ships were named to honor him.
Early life
Angus was born in 1831 in Bathgate, Scotland, as a younger son to Alexander Angus, a merchant grocer from Rafford, Morayshire, and Margaret Forrest of Bathgate. He received his education at Bathgate Academy before beginning his career as a clerk at the Manchester and Liverpool Bank. In 1857, he married Mary Anne Daniels, whose father was a Manchester wine merchant, and relocated that same year to Montreal. There, he started working as a bookkeeper at the Bank of Montreal and quickly rose through the ranks.
By 1861, Angus was managing the bank’s Chicago branch; two years afterward, he advanced to become second agent in New York. Returning to Montreal in 1864, he took on the role of interim manager at bank headquarters. In 1869, he succeeded Edwin Henry King as general manager with an annual salary of $8,000 and held this post for a decade. Throughout his leadership, he reinforced the bank’s relationship with the federal government—which depended heavily on the Bank of Montreal as Canada’s national bank—and maintained steady profits despite the economic difficulties of the 1870s.
Building the Canadian Pacific Railway
During his tenure at the Bank of Montreal, Angus joined forces in 1868 with future Lords Mount Stephen and Strathcona to advance railway projects in the Canadian West. These initiatives were primarily financed by the Bank of Montreal, where Mount Stephen served as president and Angus was his deputy. In 1879, Angus resigned from the bank to act on their behalf as vice-president of the Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad based in St. Paul, Minnesota.
While in Minnesota, Angus worked alongside James J. Hill on railway construction and upgrades. By 1880, his attention shifted to securing land grants, subsidies, and overseeing construction for the Canadian Pacific Railway, collaborating closely with Mount Stephen across Ottawa, New York, and London. He held the position of CPR general manager until 1882 before becoming vice-president responsible for expanding the eastern network. This included extending the Ontario and Quebec Railway and acquiring western segments of the 'Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway'.
The CPR encountered significant financial obstacles during its building phase; important partners such as Hill resigned by 1883, followed by Angus's associate Duncan McIntyre. To improve fundraising capabilities, Angus left his role with the St. Paul Railway in 1884. The CPR was completed in 1885 and rapidly grew into a major transportation system. After Mount Stephen resigned as president in 1888, Angus remained vice-president and supported leadership transitions to Sir William Cornelius Van Horne and later to Thomas Shaughnessy, 1st Baron Shaughnessy. He continued serving on the CPR board for over four decades and frequently traveled to its London offices.
Banking and industry
Angus utilized his financial resources to diversify investments in enterprises connected to the CPR and its executives. He served on the boards of several organizations, including Canada North-West Land Company; Royal Trust Company; Dominion Bridge Company; Dominion Iron and Steel Company; Grand Falls Power Company; Pacific Coal Company; Canadian Salt Company; and Lancashire Assurance Company based in London.
Collaborating with Sir William Van Horne and contractors James Ross and Sir William Mackenzie, he invested in urban streetcar systems throughout Montreal, Toronto, and Winnipeg. Prior to his passing, Angus was a major shareholder in Mackenzie’s Toronto Power Company. His portfolio also featured joint ventures with Van Horne in Laurentide Paper Company, initial funding for British Columbia Sugar Refinery—established by his niece’s husband Benjamin Tingley Rogers—and financial support for the Federal Telephone Company.
Angus strengthened the relationship between the CPR and Bank of Montreal during their simultaneous expansion in Western Canada. After rejoining the bank’s board in 1891, he ascended to the presidency from 1910 to 1913 following Sir George Alexander Drummond’s death. By that time, Angus had become one of the bank’s top shareholders. He stepped down as president but continued serving as a director until his demise.
Private life and philanthropy
In 1878, Angus relocated with his family to a newly built residence at 240 Drummond Street within Montreal’s prestigious Golden Square Mile. Like many affluent residents of the city, he had a keen interest in floriculture, particularly orchids, and his home featured an extensive conservatory. The house also displayed his collection of Old Master artworks, which he began assembling in the late 1870s. Angus held the presidency of the Art Association of Montreal and contributed six major paintings in 1889—considered the most significant donation since the institution’s inception. Prior to its demolition in 1957, this residence served as McGill University’s conservatory of music.
In 1901, Angus commissioned an impressive rural estate named Pine Bluff at 218 Senneville Road in Senneville, Quebec, overlooking the scenic Lake of Two Mountains. Designed by Edward and William Maxwell in the Châteauesque architectural style, it was completed in 1904 after replacing a previous home lost to fire. The property included specialized structures such as an ice house and peach house but was remodeled before being demolished during the 1950s.
Although automobiles were becoming prevalent, Angus—then president of the Bank of Montreal in 1910—was still known for arriving daily at the bank’s main office using his four-in-hand carriage. Characterized as a "quiet, purposeful man," he maintained robust health and remained active well into old age, including undertaking a European trip at ninety years old.
As one of Montreal’s wealthiest figures, Angus gained recognition for his philanthropic efforts. He presided over the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, co-established the Alexandra Contagious Diseases Hospital in 1906 where he also served as a governor. Additionally, he led the Fraser Institute Free Public Library; acted as vice-president of the Victorian Order of Nurses; governed both McGill University, to which he made generous contributions, and the Montreal General Hospital. Furthermore, he was involved as a director and benefactor of the Charity Organization Society.
A prominent member of Montreal’s Scots-Quebecer community, Angus was elected President of the St Andrew's Society and was a founding member of the Mount Royal Club, later serving as its president. He belonged to more than a dozen Canadian clubs, including chairmanship of the St. James Club and memberships in organizations such as the Montreal Jockey Club, Auto Club, Aero Club, Forest and Stream Club, Winter Club, Rideau Club (Ottawa), The Toronto Club, York Club, and Manitoba Club. Additionally, he held honorary membership in Montreal’s Antiquarian and Numismatic Society.
Legacy and family
By the time he reached thirty-eight, Angus had established himself as a prominent figure in Canadian banking, yet he ventured into speculative railway enterprises, demonstrating both his willingness to take risks and the substantial profitability of the railroad industry. Serving as President of the Bank of Montreal and a key stakeholder in the CPR, he attained a distinguished position within Canadian society and broadened his fortune by investing in sectors such as coal, pulp and paper, the iron and steel industry, real estate, and insurance. Angus also supported the education of several nephews, among them Captain Harry Angus (1891–1989), an alumnus of Oxford University.
His assets were inherited by eight surviving offspring:
- Elspeth Hudson Angus (1858–1936), who married Charles Meredith; they had no children.
- Bertha Angus, who wed Robert MacDougall Paterson, a Montreal-based stockbroker and son of Alexander Thomas Paterson, President of the Montreal Telegraph Company and Bank of Montreal board member; they had no descendants.
- Edith Margaret Angus (died 1907), spouse of Frederic Lumb Wanklyn, an executive at CPR and President of the Montreal Terminal Railway.
- Margaret Forrest Angus, married to Dr. Charles F. Martin, Dean of McGill University Faculty of Medicine and subsequently President of the Montreal Art Association.
- (Donald) Forbes Angus (1866–1943), Chairman of Standard Life Assurance and President of Guardian Life Assurance, also serving as director at Bank of Montreal and Royal Trust Company; married to Mary Henshaw.
- Maud Angus (died 1946), who married Dr. Walter William Chipman, Chief of Gynaecology at Royal Victoria Hospital and professor at McGill University.
- William Forrest Angus (1873–1951), held presidency at Dominion Bridge Company as well as Montreal's Mental Hygiene Institute.
- (David) James Angus, resident in Victoria, British Columbia.
Although Lord Mount Stephen is often recognized as the founder of the CPR empire, Angus’s financial acumen was integral to its success. In 1904, CPR honored him by naming its Montreal repair facilities the CPR Angus Shops. Upon his passing on 17 September 1922 at his country residence Pine Bluff, all CPR train operations paused for two minutes in tribute on his funeral day. He was laid to rest at Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal.