Mitchell Hepburn

Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 – January 5, 1953) was the 11th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest Premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37. His personality was complex, as The Globe and Mail noted in its obituary for him:

Early life

Born in St. Thomas, Ontario, Hepburn attended school in Elgin County and hoped to become a lawyer. His educational career ended abruptly, however, when someone threw an apple at visiting dignitary Sir Adam Beck knocking his silk top hat off of his head. Hepburn was accused of the deed, denied it, but refused to identify the culprit. Refusing to apologise he walked out of his high school and obtained a job as a bank clerk at the Canadian Bank of Commerce where he worked from 1913 to 1917 eventually becoming an accountant at the bank's Winnipeg branch.

At the outbreak of World War I, Hepburn was already enlisted in the 34th Fort Garry Horse, but was unable to obtain his parents' consent to sign up for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He became a lieutenant in the 25th Elgin Regiment of the Canadian Militia, and was conscripted to the 1st (Western Ontario) Battalion in 1918. He transferred to the Royal Air Force and was sent to Deseronto for training, but injuries in an automobile accident that summer, followed by influenza in the fall, kept him from active service. He returned to St. Thomas to tend the family's onion farm.