Davidson Dunton

Arnold Davidson Dunton, CC (July 4, 1912 – February 7, 1987) was a Canadian educator and public administrator.

Early life and career

He was educated at Lower Canada College, Montréal, and at universities in Canada, France, Britain, and Germany. He worked as a reporter on the Montreal Star 1935-37, as associate editor 1937-38, and was editor of the Montréal Standard in 1938. He joined the Wartime Information Board in 1942 and was general manager 1944-45. In late 1945, at age 33, he was appointed the first full-time chairman of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Throughout the controversies that arose over the funding and regulation of the new medium of television, Dunton was a persuasive defender of the corporation's independence and a strong advocate of the need to fund publicly a television system. Shortly after the CBC completed its network from coast to coast in July 1958, he resigned and became president of Carleton University. Dunton was widely commended for the tact and intelligence with which he had overseen the development of CBC television.