William Molson

Who was William Molson?

William Molson was a Canadian politician, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was the founder and President of Molson Bank, which was later absorbed by the Bank of Montreal.

Born Nov. 5th, 1793, he was the son of John Molson & Sarah Insley Vaughan, and was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. As a result of a disagreement with his brother, Thomas Molson, as to the conduct of their joint distilling enterprise, William withdrew from this Molson family enterprise to establish Molson Bank in association with his brother, John Molson Jr.. Founded in 1854 and chartered by the provincial legislature in 1855, it was absorbed by the Bank of Montreal in 1925. William remained its first president until his death and was succeeded by Thomas Molson's son, John Thomas Molson. William was vice-president of the Montreal and Champlain Railway and a governor of the Montreal General Hospital, being the third Molson to hold that position. Like his brother, he was a generous benefactor of McGill University, where the "William Molson Hall" was named in his honour.