James Armstrong Richardson Sr.
Canadian businessman (1885-1939)
James Armstrong Richardson Sr. (August 21, 1885 – June 26, 1939) was an influential business person in Canada in both business and aviation during the early part of the 20th century. He lived most of his life in Winnipeg.
Early life
James Armstrong Richardson was born in Kingston, Ontario, in 1885 to Agnes (McCausland) and George A. Richardson. He attended Queen's and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1906. After graduation, Richardson entered the family business founded by his grandfather, James Richardson & Sons, at the time, one of Canada's greatest grain exporters.
Business interests
Richardson became vice president of the company in 1912 and its president in 1919; in 1923, he moved the main office of the firm from Kingston to Winnipeg. Richardson quickly rose to prominence in the grain business and was elected President of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange. He was recognised as an astute businessman and sat on the Board of Directors of many Canadian companies, including the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, International Nickel, the National Trust Company Limited, the Great West Life Assurance Company, and Canadian Vickers.
Contributions to aviation
Richardson's greatest contributions came as a pioneer of Canadian commercial aviation; he founded Western Canada Airways in 1926 and helped open up the mineral mining development of the North with his air transport routes.
The public source identifies “James Armstrong Richardson Sr.” as canadian businessman (1885-1939). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around James, Armstrong and Richardson.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “James Armstrong Richardson Sr.”, the useful work is to connect “canadian businessman (1885-1939)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16022940. VIAF identifies the subject as 23377945. The Library of Congress control number is n00102278. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1885, 1939, 1906 and 1912.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “James Armstrong Richardson Sr.”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow James Armstrong Richardson Sr. primary sources, James Armstrong Richardson Sr. archive and James research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “James Armstrong Richardson Sr.”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “James Armstrong Richardson Sr.” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.