Hart Almerrin Massey was a Canadian

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...

 businessman and philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

 born in Haldimand Township (now Alnwick/Haldimand, Ontario

Alnwick/Haldimand, Ontario

Alnwick/Haldimand is a township in central Ontario, Canada, in Northumberland County, situated between Lake Ontario and Rice Lake. It was formed in 2000 by the merger of Alnwick Township in the north and Haldimand Township in the south...

) in what was then known as Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

. His parents were Daniel Massey

Daniel Massey (manufacturer)

Daniel Massey was a blacksmith in Newcastle, Ontario, who began production of agricultural implements in 1847....

 and Lucina Bradley. The doorstep of the original Massey homestead can still be found behind the current farmhouse on the farm, still in the Massey family.

Hart Massey was an industrialist who built the firm that became Massey-Harris, the farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

 equipment giant that is now Varity

Varity

Varity was a former farm equipment company, created in 1986 from the remains of Massey-Ferguson Limited of Toronto, Ontario. Varity also owned Perkins Engines headquartered in Peterborough England and Kelsey-Hayes Group of Companies headquartered in Romulus, Michigan...

. The Massey Manufacturing Co. had been founded by his father, Daniel Massey

Daniel Massey (manufacturer)

Daniel Massey was a blacksmith in Newcastle, Ontario, who began production of agricultural implements in 1847....

; Hart Massey became sole owner in 1855 and moved it from rural Newcastle

Newcastle, Ontario

Newcastle is a community in the Municipality of Clarington in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. The Town of Newcastle was also the original name of what is now Clarington....

 to the city of 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...

.

Charitable gifts in his will led to the creation of the Massey Foundation

Massey Foundation

The Massey Foundation was incorporated in 1918. It is responsible for the construction of many Toronto landmarks. It was the first trust of its kind in Canada.-History:...

, whose first major project was the completion of a student centre for 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...

, which was given the name Hart House. The foundation also contributed to Massey Hall

Massey Hall

Massey Hall is a venerable performing arts theatre in the Garden District of downtown Toronto. The theatre originally was designed to seat 3,500 patrons but, after extensive renovations in the 1940s, now seats up to 2,765....

, a cultural landmark in Toronto, and more recently endowed Massey College

Massey College

Massey College is a postgraduate residential college at the University of Toronto, established in 1963 with an endowment by the Massey Foundation. Similar to All Souls College, Oxford, members of Massey College are nominated from the university community, and are elected by and as fellows of the...

, also at U of T. Massey was also a member of the Freemasons.

Hart Massey died in Toronto in 1896 and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery

Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto

Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a cemetery located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.In the early 19th century, the only authorized cemeteries within the city of Toronto were limited to the members of either the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of England...

. He had three sons, Charles Albert (1848–1884), Frederick Victor (1867–1890), Walter Edward Hart (1864–1901) and Chester Daniel (1850–1926), who carried on the family business as well as its multiple cultural and charitable interests. Daughter Lillian Frances Treble (1854–1915) was a philanthropist and educator. Members of the next generation included his grandsons Vincent Massey

Vincent Massey

Charles Vincent Massey was a Canadian lawyer and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Canadian Confederation....

, who became Governor General of Canada

Governor General of Canada

The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...

, and actor Raymond Massey

Raymond Massey

Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...

.