William Howard Hearst
Plot 10, Lot 97
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
On February 15, 1864, William Howard Hearst was born in the Arran Township in the Ontario County of Bruce. He attended both public and high school in Collingwood and then Law School at Osgoode Hall in Toronto, being called to the bar in 1888. Ten years later, he was elected MPP for Sault Ste. Marie.
When Frank Cochrane entered federal politics in 1911, Hearst was made minister of lands and forests. A short time later, when the premier of Ontario, Sir James Whitney died, Hearst was appointed leader of the party and assumed the premiership on October 2, 1914, a position he held for five years. During his tenure, his two most important legislative enactments were the enfranchisement of women and the passing of the Ontario Temperance Act which led to eleven years of prohibition. Hearst was also instrumental in ensuring that the massive Queenston-Chippewa hydro-electric power development was realized. He was knighted on February 13, 1917.
On September 29, 1941, Sir William Hearst, Ontario’s seventh premier, died at his residence, 80 Glen Road in Rosedale. The town of Hearst in northern Ontario, formerly called the town of Grant, was renamed in honour of this distinguished politician.
Mike Filey
Mount Pleasant Cemetery: An Illustrated Guide
Second Edition Revised and Expanded