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John David Eaton

Canadian businessman

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 10, 2026
Entity authorityQ6228666
Source-derived summary

John David Eaton (4 October 1909 – 4 August 1973) was a Canadian businessman and a member of the Eaton family. From 1942–1969, he was president of Eaton's, the department store chain his grandfather, Timothy Eaton, founded.

Early life and education

Eaton was born in Toronto on 4 October 1909. He was the second son of Sir John Craig Eaton and Flora McCrae. His paternal grandfather, Timothy Eaton, had founded the T. Eaton Company Limited, commonly known as Eaton's, in 1869. Eaton grew up in Toronto at Ardwold, his parents' palatial home overlooking the city. His mother, Lady Eaton, was a Toronto society matron and hosted many major functions at Ardwold.

Sir John Craig Eaton died of pneumonia in 1922 at the age of 45. Since none of his children were old enough to take over the presidency of Eaton's at his death, his cousin, Robert Young Eaton, assumed the role. Sir John Craig's will stipulated that his successor was to be chosen by the board of directors from his four sons once they had all come of age and one could distinguish himself.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “John David Eaton” as canadian businessman. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1909, 1973, 1942, 1969—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1909-10-04. The account is most persuasive where John, David and Eaton can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as canadian businessman. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

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 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6228666. VIAF identifies the subject as 54422561. The Library of Congress control number is n50024434. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1909, 1973, 1942 and 1969.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. 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.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from John David Eaton” 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.