Vincent Massey
Governor General of Canada from 1952 to 1959 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Charles Vincent Massey PC CH CC CD FRSC(hon)[n 1] (February 20, 1887 – December 30, 1967) was a Canadian diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Confederation. Massey was the first governor general of Canada who was born in Canada.
Vincent Massey | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Massey, c. 1956 | |
| 18th Governor General of Canada | |
| In office February 28, 1952 – September 15, 1959 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Louis St. Laurent John Diefenbaker |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Alexander of Tunis |
| Succeeded by | Georges Vanier |
| 7th High Commissioner of Canada to the United Kingdom | |
| In office 1935–1946 | |
| Prime Minister | William Lyon Mackenzie King |
| Preceded by | Howard Ferguson |
| Succeeded by | Norman Robertson |
| 1st Envoy Extraordinary of Canada to the United States | |
| In office November 25, 1926 – July 23, 1930 | |
| Prime Minister | William Lyon Mackenzie King |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | William Duncan Herridge |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Vincent Massey (1887-02-20)February 20, 1887 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | December 30, 1967(1967-12-30) (aged 80) London, England |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Lionel Massey Hart Parkin Vincent Massey II |
| Relatives | Raymond Massey (brother) Daniel Massey (nephew) Anna Massey (niece) |
| Alma mater | University College, Toronto Balliol College, Oxford |
| Profession | Diplomat |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Non-Permanent Active Militia |
| Years of service | 1907 - 1915 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Captain |
| Unit | Queen's Own Rifles (1907-14) University of Toronto Officer Corps (1915) |
| Battles/wars | First World War |
Massey was born into an influential Toronto family and was educated in Ontario and England, obtaining a degree in history and befriending future prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King while studying at the University of Oxford. He was commissioned into the military in 1917 for the remainder of the First World War and, after a brief stint in the Canadian Cabinet, began his diplomatic career, serving in envoys to the United States and United Kingdom. Upon his return to Canada in 1946, Massey headed a royal commission on the arts between 1949 and 1951, which resulted in the Massey Report and subsequently the establishment of the National Library of Canada and the Canada Council of the Arts, among other grant-giving agencies. In 1952 he was appointed Governor General by King George VI on the recommendation of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, to replace the Viscount Alexander of Tunis as viceroy, and he occupied the post until succeeded by Georges Vanier in 1959.
On September 16, 1925, Massey was sworn into the King's Privy Council for Canada, giving him the accordant style of The Honourable. However, Massey was later, as a former Governor General of Canada, entitled to be styled for life with the superior form of The Right Honourable. He subsequently continued his philanthropic work and founded Massey College at the University of Toronto and the Massey Lectures before he died on December 30, 1967.