Frank Cyril James

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Frank Cyril James bigraphy, stories - Principal of McGill University, 1939 to 1962

Frank Cyril James : biography

October 8, 1903 – May 3, 1973

Frank Cyril James (October 8, 1903 – May 3, 1973) was a Canadian academic and principal of McGill University from 1939 to 1962.

Biography

Born in London, England, he won a Sir Ernest Cassel Travelling Scholarship that allowed him to study at the University of Pennsylvania in 1922, where he received his Ph.D. In 1927, he became assistant professor in the Wharton School of Business.

In 1938 he had published the two-volume The Growth of Chicago Banks ( Harper & Bros.), a masterful history of banking in America’s second most important banking center.

In 1939, he became the head of the commerce department at McGill University. After becoming friends with the Chancellor, Sir Edward Beatty, he was appointed principal and vice-chancellor and served until 1962. From 1941 he was on the original standing committee of the Foundation for the Study of Cycles.

In 1947, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Saskatchewan.

He died in England in 1973.