Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
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Description area
Dates of existence
History
John Black Aird was born on May 5th, 1923, in Toronto, the grandson of financier Sir John Aird. He attended Upper Canada College and Trinity College at the University of Toronto. During the Second World War, Aird served in the Royal Canadian Navy volunteer reserve. He was admitted to Osgoode Hall Law School in 1946 and was called to the Bar in 1949. Based in Toronto, Aird practised law at his own firm, which became Aird & Berlis in 1978. In addition to his legal career, Aird was appointed a Liberal senator in 1964 and served in that role until 1974, when he resigned to become chairman of the Institute of Research on Public Policy. He was also chairman of the Canadian section of the Canada-US Joint Board on Defence between 1971 and 1979. From 1980 to 1985, Aird served as the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. During this period, he was also chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University (1977 to 1985) and became chancellor of the University of Toronto in 1986. Aird was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 1987 and was made a companion to the Order of Canada in 1993. John Black Aird died in Toronto on May 6th, 1995.