Alexander Manning

Alexander Henderson Manning ( born May 11, 1819 in Dublin, † October 20, 1903 in Toronto ) was a Canadian businessman, politician and 20th mayor of Toronto. His first term was from 1873 to 1874, the second lasted 1885 until 1886. Manning was no party, but mingled with the Conservatives.

Manning was born in Dublin and trained. He emigrated in 1834 and worked as a carpenter in Toronto before he moved to Ohio in 1838. In 1840 he returned to Toronto and started his own business with a sawmill. In the following years he became wealthy and became one of the most prominent entrepreneurs in the city. In 1855 he stood unsuccessfully as an alderman to vote. In the years 1856 and 57 he then succeeded in gaining the city parliament. In the years 1870-74 he participated in the construction of the Parliamentary Library in Ottawa. The exact role of Manning in this construction project is uncertain. Later, he also participated in the railway construction in Vermont, Pennsylvania, New York, and Canada. In 1867 he returned to politics and was elected town councilor of the constituency of St. Lawrence in Toronto, which remained until the year 1873. From January 1873 to January 1874 he was elected by the council to the mayor. During this tenure, he reformed, inter alia, the nature of the tax revenues, founded a home for the terminally ill and purchased the water works from a private collection on. In the year 1884 5500 citizens signed a petition that prompted Manning to face up to the mayoral election. He agreed with the request and was from January 1885 to 1886 for the second time mayor - this time elected by the citizens.

Alexander Manning married on February 6, 1850 Adeline Augusta Whittemore, who died in 1861. On 1 August 1861 he married for the second time in Sherbrooke Susan Celina Smith. Their daughter from his first marriage died in 1884, his son in 1888 and his second wife in 1893. When he died in 1903, he left behind a son and a daughter.