Ben Zion Hyman was a Canadian Jewish bookseller. Originally from Mazyr

Mazyr

Mazyr, also Mozyr is a city in the Homiel Province of Belarus on the Pripyat River about 210 km east of Pinsk and 100 km northwest of Chernobyl and is located at approximately . The population is 111,770 . The total urban area including Kalinkavičy across the river has a population of...

 in what is now Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

, Hyman graduated from the Odessa Polytechnical Institute. After coming to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 (settling first in Guelph

Guelph

Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

), he graduated in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

. Hyman and his wife, Fannie (née Konstantynowski), (in Polish, Fela; in Yiddish, Faigel), opened Jewish Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

's most prominent book store, Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe

Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe

Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe, 1926 - 1971, was widely known in the Jewish community as Hyman's Bookstore. It was an important part of the early history of Spadina Avenue in Toronto, as well as the early Jewish community of Toronto. The store was founded in 1926 by Ben Zion Hyman and his wife Fannie...

 (later known as Hyman's Booksellers, and still later known as Hyman & Son) at 412 Spadina Avenue

Spadina Avenue

Spadina Avenue is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods....

 in 1926.

During his life, Hyman was active as a member, founder and/or president of a number of organizations. These included: Hadassah, JIAS, Toronto Zionist Council, Toronto JNF, Keren Hatarbut, Poale Zion, and Farband. Hyman was an elected delegate to the first Canadian Jewish Congress

Canadian Jewish Congress

The Canadian Jewish Congress was one of the main lobby groups for the Jewish community in the country, although it often competed with the more conservative B'nai Brith Canada in that regard. At its dissolution, the president of the CJC was Mark Freiman. Its past co-presidents were Sylvain Abitbol...

 in 1919. He also founded the Toronto Jewish Public Library

Jewish Public Library (Toronto)

The Albert and Temmy Latner Jewish Public Library in Toronto was founded in 1941 as the Jewish Public Library by bookseller Ben Zion Hyman. The library has had several locations throughout its history. In 1983 it settled in its current location at 4600 Bathurst Street. Today, the library is a...

 in 1941. In 1953, his son Gurion Hyman

Gurion Hyman

Gurion Joseph Hyman – Canadian Jewish Anthropologist, Linguist, Pharmacist, Composer, Artist, and Translator. Primary contributions have been liturgical compositions for the Passover Haggadah and Sabbath prayer service, translations into English as well as the setting to music of several...

opened a branch at 1032 Eglinton Avenue West in the Cedarvale/Forest Hill area of Toronto.

Hyman closed the store in the early 1970s after the death of his wife.