Right Honourable Lester Pearson Historical Plaque

Toronto's Historical Plaques

at torontoplaques.com

Learn a little of Toronto's history as told through its plaques

The Right Honourable Lester Bowles Pearson, 1897-1972

Birthplace of Lester Pearson

There are two plaques about this gentleman.
Both can be seen on this page.

Photos by Alan L Brown - Posted March, 2004

Photo Source - Wikipedia

Two plaques tell us about this gentleman. Both can be seen on this page. In front of this church at 53 Cummer Avenue stands an Ontario Heritage Trust plaque which tells us this about Mr. Pearson:

Plaque coordinates: 43.787311 -79.415064

Born in the Newtonbrook Methodist parsonage which stood nearby, Pearson was educated at Toronto and Oxford Universities. He served overseas from 1915 to 1918 and, in 1928, joined the Department of External Affairs. During a brilliant diplomatic career he was Canadian Ambassador to the United States and later Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs. Appointed to the cabinet in 1948, he was elected to Parliament for Algoma East. In 1958 he became leader of the Liberal Party and was Prime Minister from 1963 to 1968. Active in the United Nations from its inception, Pearson was president of the General Assembly, 1951-52, played a major role in settling the Suez Crisis of 1956, and was the first Canadian to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted September, 2007

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted August, 2011

Here on the east wall near the main doors of this building on the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Hendon Avenue, a block north of Finch Avenue, is a 1997 plaque erected on the centenary of Lester Pearson's birth by the Willowdale Federal Liberal Association. Here's what it says:

Plaque coordinates: 43.78120 -79.41626

Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, scholar, diplomat and statesman, was born in his parent's home, the Wesleyan Methodist Church manse, which stood on this site in the then village of Newtonbrook, on April 23, 1897. He joined the Department of External Affairs in 1928, becoming First Secretary of the Canadian High Commission in London (1935-41) and Ambassador to the United States (1945-46). He was Member of Parliament for Algoma East and Minister of External Affairs in the government of Louis St. Laurent (1948-1957) where he was instrumental in the founding of NATO (1949) and the Korean Armistice (1953). He was President of the United Nations General Assembly (1952-53) and the architect of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Suez for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957.

Elected leader of the Liberal Party in 1958, he became Prime Minister of Canada in 1963. His government (1963-68) left a legacy of reform and pioneering social legislation which included the Canada Pension Plan, universal health care, the Canada Student Loan Plan, a new Canadian flag, and the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism.

Mr. Pearson died in Ottawa on December 27, 1972.

Related Toronto plaque
Newtonbrook

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Public Service
North York plaques

Here are the visitors' comments for this page.

Posted October 4, 2010
With Great Respect and Great Pride towards the Memory of Mister Pearson, I beleive that he left us and also to all of our young generations and to future ones, an heritage of outstanding values from a generous and simple man, with a heart as big as the one of a Giant. In ordinary and plain language: "He was a good man". Thank You_Merci. Lucien Alexandre Marion Gatineau Qc. Canada

Posted September 16, 2010
With Great Respect, Humility and Great Pride, a monument in memory of Right Honourable Lester Bowles Pearson will be elevated and unveiled in a "little peace park" in the beautiful little town of Wakefield Qc where Mister Pearson choose to rest in the Peace of the Lord. Lucien Alexandre Marion Gatineau Qc. Canada. In Memoriam 1897-1972

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