McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Birks, J. Earl, 1876-1948
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
1876-1948
History
John Earl Birks was born on March 7, 1876, in Peoria, Illinois, USA. In 1894, he came to Montreal as a young man to join his uncle's jewelry and silversmith business Henry Birks & Sons, Ltd. He spent 50 years working there, mostly as manager of the advertising and mail order departments in the head office in Montreal. He was also well known in Toronto, where he was associated with the firm of Ryrie-Birks, Ltd. from 1923 to 1932 and in Winnipeg where he worked with Birks-Dingwall, Ltd. He was a member and an elder of Knox-Crescent Presbyterian Church, a member of the Young Men's Christian Association, and the Royal Montreal Curling Club. In 1904, he married Selina Terrance Savage. He died on March 18, 1948, in Montreal, Quebec