Thomas Dick: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox person
{{Infobox Person
| name        = Thomas Dick
| name        = Thomas Dick
| image      = Captain Thomas Dick.jpg
| portrait    = Captain Thomas Dick.jpg
| alt        =  
| alt        =  
| caption    =  
| caption    =  
| birth_date  = 1809-1810
| birth_date  = 1809-1810
| birth_place = [[Scotland]]
| birth_place = [[Scotland]]
| death_date  = {{Death year and age|1874|1809}}
| death_date  = 1874
| death_place = [[Toronto]]
| death_place = [[Toronto, Ontario]]
| nationality = [[United Kingdom]]/[[Canada]]
| nationality = [[United Kingdom]]/[[Canada]]
| other_names =  
| other_names =  
Line 13: Line 13:
| occupation  = Ship's captain, hotelier
| occupation  = Ship's captain, hotelier
}}
}}
'''Thomas Dick''' was a [[United Kingdom]]/[[Canada]] citizen, who worked as a sailor, a ship's captain, who later bought and operated [[Toronto]]'s most luxurious hotel.<ref name=DictBioDick/><ref name=MpgBioDick/> Dick was born in 1809 or 1810, and went to sea at 14 years old, and had earned his master's certificate, and become a [[Sea captain|ship's captain]], by the time he was 23.<ref name=TheStar2015-03-16/>  He and his wife immigrated to Canada in 1833 or 1834.
'''Thomas Dick''' was a [[United Kingdom]]/[[Canada]] citizen, who worked as a sailor, a ship's captain, who later bought and operated [[Toronto, Ontario]]'s most luxurious hotel.<ref name=DictBioDick/><ref name=MpgBioDick/> Dick was born in 1809 or 1810, and went to sea at 14 years old, and had earned his master's certificate, and become a [[Sea captain|ship's captain]], by the time he was 23.<ref name=TheStar2015-03-16/>  He and his wife immigrated to Canada in 1833 or 1834.


They first settled in [[Niagara-on-the-Lake]], then a shipbuilding port.<ref name=MpgBioDick/>  Dick seems to have played a role in the shipbuilding there.  He commanded the [[schooner]] ''Fanny'' in 1835.  He commanded {{HMS|Experiment|1838|6}} during the [[Battle of the Windmill]] in 1838.
They first settled in [[Niagara-on-the-Lake]], then a shipbuilding port.<ref name=MpgBioDick/>  Dick seems to have played a role in the shipbuilding there.  He commanded the [[schooner]] ''Fanny'' in 1835.  He commanded {{HMS|Experiment|1838|6}} during the [[Battle of the Windmill]] in 1838.

Latest revision as of 11:20, 30 March 2023

Thomas Dick
Captain Thomas Dick.jpg
Born 1809-1810
Scotland
Died 1874
Toronto, Ontario
Occupation Ship's captain, hotelier
Known for owner of the Queen's Hotel

Thomas Dick was a United Kingdom/Canada citizen, who worked as a sailor, a ship's captain, who later bought and operated Toronto, Ontario's most luxurious hotel.[1][2] Dick was born in 1809 or 1810, and went to sea at 14 years old, and had earned his master's certificate, and become a ship's captain, by the time he was 23.[3] He and his wife immigrated to Canada in 1833 or 1834.

They first settled in Niagara-on-the-Lake, then a shipbuilding port.[2] Dick seems to have played a role in the shipbuilding there. He commanded the schooner Fanny in 1835. He commanded Template:HMS during the Battle of the Windmill in 1838.

Dick started being part owner of the ships he commanded, later owning a small fleet of ships.[3]

However, by the 1850, railroads were starting to supplant water travel - at least along the shores of Lake Ontario.[3] Dick moved his fleet to the Upper Lakes, and branched out into finance, real estate, and, eventually, running the Queen's Hotel, which he turned into one of Toronto's most luxurious hotels.

References

  1. Dick, Thomas, Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved on 2018-11-13.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Thomas Dick, Mount Pleasant Group. Retrieved on 2018-11-13. “Thomas Dick went to sea as a youth and earned his master’s certificate. He immigrated to Upper Canada about 1833 and went to work at the newly established Niagara Harbour and Dock Company in Niagara-on-the-Lake.”
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Angus Skene. Business history: The steamer captain connected to the Royal York hotel, Toronto Star, 2015-03-16. Retrieved on 2018-11-13. “For the first few years, Dick seemed to operate out of Niagara-on-the-Lake, for long before that economy subsisted on fudge and light theatre it was a down-and-dirty shipbuilding centre sometimes employing hundreds of men. Dick soon fell in with a cabal of Scots who controlled that venture and much of the Lake Ontario steamship business as well.”