Baron Max Aitken Beaverbrook

Born William Maxwell Aitken in Maple, Ontario, on May 25, 1879, he grew up in New Brunswick and showed an early knack for business. He made his first fortune in Canada, moved to Britain in 1910, and soon entered public life, later becoming Baron Beaverbrook.

He was a strikingly varied figure: financier, politician, newspaper proprietor, and author. Sources describe him as an influential force in British public life who served in cabinet roles during both World Wars, while also building the Daily Express into a hugely popular mass-circulation paper.

Beyond politics and publishing, Beaverbrook also left a mark on cultural memory. Canadian sources credit him with supporting major efforts to document and commemorate Canada’s experience in the First World War, including war records and art. He died in England on June 9, 1964.