27 Facts About Alexander Manning

Alexander Henderson Manning was a Canadian contractor, businessman, and the 20th Mayor of Toronto, serving a single term in 1873 and a second in 1885.

Alexander Manning worked on the construction of several projects, including the Welland Canal and the Library of Parliament.

Alexander Manning was elected as alderman for Toronto City Council, representing St Lawrence Ward in 1856 and 1857.

Alexander Manning was re-elected as an alderman from 1867 to 1873.

Alexander Manning was selected by the Toronto City Council to be mayor in 1873, but was not reelected the following year when the mayor was chosen by popular vote.

Alexander Manning won the election for mayor of Toronto in 1884, but was again unsuccessful in his reelection bid the following year.

Alexander Manning worked as a builder and was a partner in a sawmill business.

Alexander Manning worked on the construction of various projects, including the Welland Canal and the Toronto Normal and Model School.

Alexander Manning was an investor for the Toronto Street Railway and constructed railways in Vermont, Pennsylvania, New York, and other locations across Canada.

Alexander Manning was unsuccessful in his first election for alderman for St Lawrence Ward with the Toronto City Council in 1855, but was elected to the position the following year and reelected in 1857.

Alexander Manning was not an alderman in the following city council.

Alexander Manning returned to the Toronto City Council as an alderman for St Lawrence Ward in 1867, and would be reelected every year until 1873.

Alexander Manning nominated himself for mayor of the city in 1872, but was not selected by his fellow councillors for the role.

Alexander Manning ran in the 1874 mayoral election, which returned to selecting the mayor by popular vote, but lost due to public allegations of misdeeds during the tendering process of improving the waterworks projects.

Alexander Manning ran to become mayor in 1879, but came in third.

Alexander Manning declined the nomination for mayor in 1881, but in 1884 over 5,000 citizens signed a petition for Manning to run for the position.

Alexander Manning advocated for a better sanitation system in the city, but was hampered by his association with dishonest associates.

Alexander Manning advocated for the creation of the Home for Incurables.

Alexander Manning called for the creation of the Toronto Volunteers Reception Committee to prepare events for the return of troops from the North-West Rebellion.

Alexander Manning formed a committee to construct a monument commemorating the men who participated in fighting for the government in the rebellion.

Alexander Manning supported the Daily Mail in their employment dispute against the Toronto Typographical Union, causing the union to campaign against Alexander Manning.

Alexander Manning participated in several Toronto social organisations, including the Irish Protestant Benevolent Society of Toronto, the St Patrick's Society of Toronto, and the National Club of Toronto.

Alexander Manning was an investor in Toronto's Grand Opera House, and bought the building when it went bankrupt in 1876.

Alexander Manning was a member of the Toronto Board of Trade, a director of the Traders Bank of Canada and the Canadian Bank of Commerce, and president of the Toronto Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company and the North American Land Company Limited.

Alexander Manning married his first wife, Adeline Augusta Whittemore, on 6 February 1850.

Alexander Manning died in 1861, and he married his second wife, Susan Celina Smith, later that year on 1 August.

Alexander Manning was buried at St James Cemetery in a tomb he built for his family.