George Parkin Grant (1918 - 1988)

Ancestors

Biography

George Parkin Grant, OC, FRSC was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Maude Erskine (née Parkin) and William Lawson Grant. He came from a distinguished Canadian family of scholars and educators. His father was the principal of Upper Canada College, and his paternal grandfather George Monro Grant was the principal of Queen's University. His maternal grandfather was Sir George Robert Parkin, also a principal at Upper Canada College.

Grant was a Canadian philosopher, professor, and political commentator. He is best known for his Canadian nationalism, political conservatism, and his views on technology, pacifism and Christian faith. He is considered one of Canada's most original thinkers.

In 1947, he married Sheila Allen, a fellow pacifist, who following service as a nurse during the war, was returning to her studies of English literature. She played a large role in Grant’s intellectual life, editing and sometimes co-authoring/ghosting for him. They had six children.

George and Sheila moved to Halifax where George taught philosophy at Dalhousie University. He stayed at Dalhousie until 1958.

In 1981, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for having "become a major force in Canadian intellectual life" and was also awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Pierre Chauveau Medal. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

In 2005 Grant's book Lament for a Nation: The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism was voted one of The Literary Review of Canada's 100 most important Canadian books.

Sources

• H. D. Forbes, “GRANT, GEORGE PARKIN,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 21, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed March 18, 2016, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/grant_george_parkin_21E.html.
• Terry Wood, From backwoods to national conscience: The Family of Sir G.R. Parkin The Archivist Number 107, 1994 (National Archives of Canada Ottawa, 1994)
• MG 30 D 44 George R Parkins Papers (National Archives of Canada; Ottawa, ON)
• MG 30 D 59 Mrs W L Grant (Marjorie Parkin) papers
• Death notice of George Parkin Grant in Globe & Mail, 28 Sep 1988
• William Christian, editor, George Grant Selected Letters (University of Toronto Press, 1996), Google Books
• Fisher Family Tree, being descendants of Michael and Maria Fisher primarily through grandson Peter Fisher Note: created by Fisher family of Sackville, NB