-
Birth.
In Montreal, in 1844.
-
Background.
Irish. The McCord family, merchants and jurists for several generations, settled in Canada around 1760.
-
Family.
Wealthy, cultivated, bilingual and open to the winds of social reform that were sweeping through 19th-century Montreal. His father, a jurist, was keenly interested in science and meteorology. His mother, a talented watercolourist, was an art-lover.
-
Education.
Trained as a lawyer. Although not a professional historian, D. R. McCord possessed a wide knowledge of history: he read and critiqued everything published about the country's past. He was also an expert on Canada's material culture.
-
Profession.
Lawyer, negotiator for aboriginal groups, magistrate.
-
Dream.
To forge links between his country's various cultures.
-
Favourite quotes:
"What we have loved, others will love, and we will teach them how" (William Wordsworth). "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (The Bible, Proverbs 29:18).
-
Passion.
Collecting anything related to the history of Montreal, Quebec and Canada, from a diversity of realms: domestic, urban, religious, artistic, political, aboriginal...
-
Life's work.
The McCord Museum, founded following the donation of his personal collection (15,000 objects).
-
Death.
In Guelph (Ontario), in 1930.
at the MUSEUM
Home Page
> About the Museum
> David Ross McCord - A Portrait