Portrait of James Dunsmuir

People/magnate, politician

James Dunsmuir

James Dunsmuir (1851–1920), magnate, politician, from Canada. Linked to coal.

The lucky break

His father's Wellington coal discovery in 1873 transformed his prospects. He managed the Wellington mine from 1876 to 1881.1,2

The downfall

The 1877 strike and later disputes over the family wills were part of his career.1,2

Legacy

He became lieutenant governor of British Columbia and helped run the family coal and railway business after 1889.1,2

Story cards

Where next

People

FamilyRobert DunsmuirHis father's Wellington coal discovery in 1873 transformed his prospects.1

Sources

  1. DUNSMUIR, JAMES Dictionary of Canadian Biography
  2. File pages and licence metadata for portraits (via the Commons imageinfo/extmetadata API) Wikimedia Commons

Pictures on this page: James Dunsmuir.jpg, not recorded on the file page (Public domain); Robert Dunsmuir.jpg, William Downie (Public domain).

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0; Haul trucks by Lechhabmed, CC BY-SA 4.0.