Vincent Massey

Vincent Massey
Massey, c. 1956
18th Governor General of Canada
In office
February 28, 1952 – September 15, 1959
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterLouis St. Laurent
John Diefenbaker
Preceded byThe Viscount Alexander of Tunis
Succeeded byGeorges Vanier
7th High Commissioner of Canada to the United Kingdom
In office
1935–1946
Prime MinisterWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King
Preceded byHoward Ferguson
Succeeded byNorman Robertson
1st Envoy Extraordinary of Canada to the United States
In office
November 25, 1926 – July 23, 1930
Prime MinisterWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byWilliam Duncan Herridge
Personal details
Born
Charles Vincent Massey

(1887-02-20)February 20, 1887
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DiedDecember 30, 1967(1967-12-30) (aged 80)
London, England
Spouse
(m. 1915; died 1950)
ChildrenLionel Massey
Hart Parkin Vincent Massey II
RelativesRaymond Massey (brother)
Daniel Massey (nephew)
Anna Massey (niece)
Alma materUniversity College, Toronto
Balliol College, Oxford
ProfessionDiplomat
Signature
Military service
AllegianceNon-Permanent Active Militia
Years of service1907 - 1915
RankLieutenant
Captain
UnitQueen's Own Rifles (1907-14)
University of Toronto Officer Corps (1915)
Battles/warsFirst World War

Charles Vincent Massey PC CH CC CD FRSC(hon)[n 1] (February 20, 1887 – December 30, 1967) was a Canadian diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Confederation. Massey was the first governor general of Canada who was born in Canada.

Massey was born into an influential Toronto family and was educated in Ontario and England, obtaining a degree in history and befriending future prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King while studying at the University of Oxford. He was commissioned into the military in 1917 for the remainder of the First World War and, after a brief stint in the Canadian Cabinet, began his diplomatic career, serving in envoys to the United States and United Kingdom. Upon his return to Canada in 1946, Massey headed a royal commission on the arts between 1949 and 1951, which resulted in the Massey Report and subsequently the establishment of the National Library of Canada and the Canada Council of the Arts, among other grant-giving agencies. In 1952 he was appointed Governor General by King George VI on the recommendation of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, to replace the Viscount Alexander of Tunis as viceroy, and he occupied the post until succeeded by Georges Vanier in 1959.

On September 16, 1925, Massey was sworn into the King's Privy Council for Canada, giving him the accordant style of The Honourable. However, Massey was later, as a former Governor General of Canada, entitled to be styled for life with the superior form of The Right Honourable. He subsequently continued his philanthropic work and founded Massey College at the University of Toronto and the Massey Lectures before he died on December 30, 1967.

  1. ^ "The Right Honourable Vincent Massey". [Honour recipients]. Office of the Governor General of Canada. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022.
  2. ^ "Canadian Forces' Decoration". Veterans Affairs Canada. 2001. Archived from the original on January 16, 2011.


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