1. Timothy Eaton was a Northern Irish-Canadian businessman who founded the Eaton's department store, one of the most important retail businesses in Canada's history.
12 Facts About Timothy Eaton
1. 2.
Timothy Eaton was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland.
3.
Timothy Eaton's parents were Scottish Protestants, John Eaton and Margaret Craig.
4.
One of the daughters, Josephine Smyth Timothy Eaton, survived the sinking of RMS Lusitania off the Irish coast in 1915.
5.
Timothy Eaton's sister married William Reid; they owned a farm in Georgetown, Ontario, a short distance from Glen Williams.
6.
In 1865, with the help of his brothers, Robert and James, Timothy Eaton set up a bakery business in the town of Kirkton, Ontario, which went under after only a few months.
7.
In 1869, Timothy Eaton purchased an existing dry-goods and haberdashery business at 178 Yonge Street in Toronto.
8.
In promoting his new business, Timothy Eaton embraced two retail practices that were ground-breaking at the time: first, all goods had one price with no credit given, and second, all purchases came with a money-back guarantee.
9.
Timothy Eaton died of pneumonia on 31 January 1907, and is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto.
10.
Timothy Eaton was succeeded by his son, John Craig Eaton.
11.
In 1919, two life-sized statues of Timothy Eaton were donated by the Eaton's employees to the Toronto and Winnipeg stores in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the company.
12.
In 1985, his great-great-granddaughter, Nancy Timothy Eaton, was murdered by a childhood friend, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity.