The Hon. George William Ross, Premier of the Province of Ontario, was
born near London, Ontario, in 1841. His father was a Scotchman, who,
after migrating to Canada, became a prosperous farmer. Mr. Ross began
his active life as a country school teacher. The government of the
Province of Ontario established in 1871 a system of school inspectors,
and he was appointed to one of these places. In the general election of
the following year, Mr. Ross was chosen to represent the Conservative
party in the western division of his native county, and was elected to
the Dominion House of Commons. It was particularly his ability as an
orator that brought him this honor. He was a member at the time of the
Sons of Temperance, and it was at the meetings of this society that
he seized his first opportunities to develop and display his gifts as
a public speaker. He has said since that this experience in talking on
his feet was invaluable to him, and he advises all young men who desire
to acquire the gift of public speaking to join a debating society or
other organization whose members are willing to listen to budding
eloquence.
Mr. Ross was made Minister of Education for the Province of Ontario in
1883, and in 1887 succeeded in having passed a law for the federation
of the denominational colleges of Toronto into a single unit, The
University of Toronto. He inaugurated other educational reforms, and
materially raised the standard of public education in the Province.
Mr. Ross relinquished his work in this special field in 1900 to become
Premier of Ontario. He has been prominently identified with movements
in the cause of temperance, and holds honorary degrees in five Canadian
universities. One of his distinguishing qualities is versatility. He is
interested in astronomy, and has a marked literary bent, having written
biographical sketches and some poetry.