McGill Libraries
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Lyon, James Walter, 1848-1933
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1848-1933
History
James Walter Lyon was born on April 24, 1848, in Herrick, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania.
He was a book publisher. He started in life as a school teacher in 1865 and later entered the publishing house industry in Michigan. When a Canadian branch of the company opened in Guelph, he relocated there in 1872. In 1873, he formed the World Publishing Company and achieved great success with branches established in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the West Indies, China, and other parts of the globe. In 1876, Queen Victoria accepted the dedication of an atlas which Lyon had been working on in Australia. The atlas ended up generating $3 million. He was greatly responsible for the industrial development of Guelph. He fostered the growth of the Ontario Hydro and served as President of the Guelph Radial Railway Co., Director of the Guelph Junction Ry., President of the Board of Trade, and Director of the Home Life Insurance Co. of Toronto. He was also an Alderman of the city of Guelph.
In 1873, he married Lucy Boult (1852–1924) and in 1926, he married Clara Harrington (–1933). He died on May 25, 1933, in Wellington, Ontario.