George Ryerson Gardiner O.C., M.B.A., LL.D. (April 25, 1917 – December 7, 1997) was a Toronto businessman, philanthropist and co-founder of the Gardiner Museum. Gardiner was born in Toronto in 1917 and attended the University of Toronto (‘39 B.Comm) and Harvard University (MBA). He began his career running a munitions factory during World War II and later started his stock brokerage firm Gardiner Watson Limited (sold to TD Bank in 1987). He was also past president of the Toronto Stock Exchange.[1]
He married Helen Gardiner and with her co-founded the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Arts in Toronto.
In 1989 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.
In 1990, Gardiner’s family endowed a chair in his name at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, dedicated to enhancing the teaching of ethics in management. The first holder of the George R. Gardiner Professorship in Business Ethics, Wesley Cragg was appointed in 1992, and was succeeded in 2007 by Andrew Crane.
Gardiner Farms
George Gardiner was a major figure in Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing. In the 1950s he established Gardiner farms, a breeding operation in Caledon East, Ontario. In 1976, Gardiner won a Sovereign Award for Outstanding Owner. In 2000, he was inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in the builders category.
References
- Official website for the Gardiner Museum and its history
- George R. Gardiner at the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
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