McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Birks, Henry G. (Henry Gifford), 1893-1985
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
1893-1985
History
As grandson of the founder of the Henry Birks and Son Ltd., Canada’s largest company of gold and silversmiths, Henry Gifford Birks was destined to play a role in the family business and in the Montreal business community. He entered the business in 1911, became general manager in 1933, then president in 1944. Besides sitting on the boards of many companies, he was president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Montreal Board of Trade. A graduate of McGill, he also served as a governor of the university. He was a member of Montreal City Council from 1940 to 1944.