- W.L. Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874-1950) was born in Berlin (Kitchener), Ontario Educated at Toronto, Chicago and Harvard Was federal member of Canadian parliament 1908-1911 Liberal leader (Canada) in 1919 Prime Minister of Canada in 1921.
- Pictured on a 4¢ Canadian postage stamp in the Prime Ministers of Canada series, issued 25 June 1951.
- Featured on the Canadian $50 Bill
- He had the longest combined time in the Prime Minister position in British Commonwealth history
- Pime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948
- Years after his death, it was revealed that he participated in the occult. He would often use a crystal ball to consult with his deceased mother and dog on policy matters during World War II.
- Was responsible for the creation of the federal Ministry of Labor. He was appointed as Canada's first Minister of Labour in 1910.
- Earned a Ph.D from Harvard University in 1909. Both he and Sir John J.C. Abbott are the only two Canadian Prime Ministers to have earned academic doctorates (Abbott held a Doctor of Civil Law degree.).
- His Grandfather was William Lyon Mackenzie, a journalist, politician and leader of the Upper Canada Rebellion.
- Although he served in the Merchant Marine During World War II, like many French Canadians, Kerouac felt that the U.S. should not be at war with Germany. Vichy France was an ally of Nazi Germany, and many French Candians in Quebec were pro-Germany. (One of the reasons Laurence Olivier played a French Canadian tapper named Johnny who tells the Nazi officer he is a "Canadian" in 'Michael Powell' and 'Eric Pressburger''s 49th Parallel (1941) was that it was a propaganda film to promote pro-British feeling in Canada, and specifically Quebec.) When Canada resorted to conscription to swell the ranks of its Army, there were draft riots throughout Quebec, so intense was the feeling against the United Kingdom, which of course had subjugated New France less than 200 years before. Anti-war sentiment was so rife throughout Canada, Prime Minister King declared that only volunteers would be shipped off to Europe.
- He is the only Canadian Prime Minister to have earned a PhD.
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