Edward Plunket Taylor

Edward Plunket Taylor, also known as E.P. Taylor, was a Canadian businessman, horse breeder, and philanthropist who was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in 1901. He was the son of Plunket Bourchier Taylor, a stockbroker, and Florence Magee Taylor, a socialite. He attended Ashbury College and McGill University, where he studied engineering and economics. He joined the investment firm of McLeod, Young and Weir in 1923, and became a director in 1929. He also founded the Brewing Corporation of Canada in 1930, which later became Canadian Breweries, the largest brewing company in the world at the time. He diversified his business interests into various sectors, such as mining, steel, oil, chemicals, newspapers, and real estate. He formed the Argus Corporation in 1945, which became a powerful holding company that controlled many of Canada's largest corporations. He was also involved in international trade and finance, and served as an adviser to the British and Canadian governments during World War II. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1946 for his services to the British Commonwealth. Taylor was also a passionate horse racing enthusiast, who founded Windfields Farm in 1937. He bred and owned some of the most successful thoroughbred horses in history, such as Nearctic, Northern Dancer, Nijinsky, The Minstrel, and Storm Bird. He won the Queen's Plate 11 times, the Kentucky Derby twice, the Epsom Derby three times, and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe twice. He was the leading breeder in North America four times, and was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. He also donated millions of dollars to various causes and institutions, such as the University of Toronto, the National Ballet of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Hospital for Sick Children. He died of a heart attack in 1989 at the age of 88 and was buried at his Windfields Estate in Oshawa, Ontario. He was remembered as one of the most influential and wealthy Canadians of the 20th century, and a legend in the horse racing industry.