Austin Cotterell Taylor

Major Austin Cotterell Taylor, CBE (January 17, 1889 – November 1, 1965) was a Canadian mining executive and developer, financier, and philanthropist in developing thoroughbred horse racing in British Columbia.[1]

"Austin C. Taylor" redirects here. For the New Brunswick politician, see Austin Claude Taylor.
Austin Cotterell Taylor
BornJanuary 17, 1889
East York, Ontario, Canada
DiedNovember 1, 1965(1965-11-01) (aged 76)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
EducationSt. Andrew's College
OccupationBusinessman
Board member ofBralorne Mine, Ltd., A.C.T. Stock Farm, British Columbia Power Corp., St. Andrew's College
Spouse(s)Kathleen Elliott (d. 1972)
ChildrenAustin, Kathleen, Patricia
Honors

Background

Born in East York, Ontario, Austin Taylor was educated at St. Andrew's College, located at that time in Toronto, Ontario; he would later become a member of the school's Board of Governors.[2] Taylor would make his home in the province of British Columbia where he would make a fortune in the mining and lumber industries, notably through Bralorne Mines, Ltd. of which he was President.[3] An influential business figure in Canada, in 1934 The Wall Street Journal announced his appointment to the Board of Directors of British Columbia Power Corp.[4] and later was appointed a director of the Bank of Canada.[5]

Austin Taylor married Kathleen Elliott of Winnipeg, Manitoba with whom he had three children. Daughter, Patricia Aldyen Austin Taylor married American conservative author and commentator William F. Buckley, Jr..[6]

Wartime service

During World War I, Austin Taylor was part of the Canadian military and was appointed director of the Department of Aeronautical Supplies with responsibility for overseeing the harvesting and preparation of spruce lumber for military aircraft production.[7] During World War II, Major Taylor was appointed chairman of the British Columbia Security Commission, a provincial government agency created to manage Japanese Canadian internment. As well, he served as one of C.D. Howe's dollar-a-year men.[8] In recognition of his service, Taylor was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.[9]

Austin Taylor died at age seventy-six in 1965.[10]

Thoroughbred racing

For his substantial contribution to the development of thoroughbred racing, Austin Taylor was voted part of the inaugural class of inductees in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Builders category.[11] Beyond racing, Taylor became involved with breeding through his A.C.T. Stock Farm located near Vancouver in the community of Milner.

According to his biography at the Hall of Fame, Austin Taylor "assembled the most powerful stable ever seen in Western Canada during the 1930s." His racing stable competed in Vancouver as well as at tracks throughout California.[12] In 1936, his horses won every handicap of importance at the Tanforan Racetrack meeting [13] including Indian Broom who set a world record of 1:47 3/5 for a mile and an eighth on dirt. Indian Broom went on to run third in the Kentucky Derby and in his four years of racing won a number of races including the San Juan Capistrano Handicap.[14] Among Austin Taylor's other successful horses:

References
  1. Vancouver Sun - April 17, 2007 Archived August 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. "St Andrew's College Review, Mid-winter 1955"
  3. The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington) - May 3, 1952
  4. The Wall Street Journal - October 2, 1934
  5. The New York Times - November 4, 1965
  6. New York Times - April 16, 2007
  7. National Library of New Zealand copy of an article in the Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14674, 6 August 1918, Page 6
  8. Newman 1982
  9. re:place magazine - November 2, 2009 Archived November 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  10. The New York Times - November 3, 1965 obituary for Austin C. Taylor
  11. Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Archived January 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  12. Los Angeles Times - December 18, 1936 article titled
  13. Los Angeles Times - April 15, 1936
  14. Hartford Courant - April 12, 1936

Sources
  • Buckley, Christopher Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir (2009) ISBN 978-0-446-54094-0
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.