Colonel Robert Samuel McLaughlin, CC

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

, ED

Canadian Efficiency Decoration

The Canadian Efficiency Decoration was a Canadian military award given to officers of the non-permanent active militia, RCAF Auxiliary and Reserve who completed twenty years of meritorious military service. Similar Efficiency Decorations were also awarded by other Commonwealth countries. A bar...

, CD

Canadian Forces Decoration

The Canadian Forces Decoration is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to the Governor General of Canada upon his or her appointment as viceroy, which includes the...

 (September 8, 1871 – January 6, 1972) was an influential 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. He started the McLaughlin Motor Car Co.

McLaughlin automobile

The McLaughlin automobile company began life in 1876 as the McLaughlin Carriage Company, a blacksmith's shop in the village of Enniskillen, located north east of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The company began making horse-drawn carriages in the mid 19th Century, moving to Oshawa, Ontario in 1876...

 in 1907, one of the first major automobile manufacturers in Canada, which evolved into General Motors of Canada

General Motors Canada

General Motors of Canada Limited is General Motors' Canadian division. Its national headquarters office, Canadian Regional Engineering Centre, and main manufacturing plants are located in Oshawa, Ontario. GM Canada is 100% owned by GM.As of Apr...

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1895 became Partner McLaughlin Carrage Company
1901 Director and Sec-Treasurer McLaughlin Carrage Co Limited
1907 President McLaughlin Motor Car Company Limited
1910 Director General Motors Company (Detroit)
1915 Director and Treasurer Chevrolet Motor Company of Canada Ltd
1917 Director Dominion Bank of Canada to 1959
1918 Director and Vice-President of General Motors Corporation
1919 President General Motors of Canada Limited
1919 President of McLaughlin Motor Car Company Limited (New Co)
1919 President of Olds Motor Works of Canada Limited
1919 President Chevrolet Motor Company of Canada Limited (New Co)
1922 President Oakland Motor Car Company of Canada Limited
1923 President Cadillac Motor Car Company of Canada Limited
1923 President General Motors Truck Company of Canada Limited
1926 President General Motors Products of Canada Limited
1930 Director Canadian Pacific Railroad
Director of Power Corporation Genstar Limited
(this information from GM archives)
Born near Bowmanville in the hamlet of Enniskillen

Enniskillen, Ontario (Hamlet)

Enniskillen is a community located in the municipality of Clarington, Ontario, Canada. Enniskillen was established in the early 1800s . Enniskillen has one school, Enniskillen Public School, which goes from junior kindergarten to grade 6. Enniskillen is mostly a farmer's community with one small...

, 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....

, the son of Robert McLaughlin

Robert McLaughlin

Robert McLaughlin was a Canadian industrialist and businessman. He founded the McLaughlin Carriage and McLaughlin Motor Car companies which later became part of General Motors....

, he started working in 1887 for his father's company, McLaughlin Carriage Works, at one time the largest manufacturer of horse-drawn buggies and sleighs in the British Empire.