Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hugh Andrew Montagu Allan, (October 13, 1860 – September 26, 1951) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was the principal heir of his father, Sir Hugh Allan, and became deputy chairman of the family-owned Allan Steamship Line. He was president of several major Canadian financial institutions and of the Montreal General Hospital. He co-founded and was president of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Montreal. In 1940, he and his wife donated their Montreal home, Ravenscrag, to the McGill University Faculty of Medicine, and it became known as the Allan Memorial Institute. He is best remembered as a sportsman who donated the Allan Cup, a trophy that is still awarded today to the Canadian men's amateur ice hockey champions.
Early life
Born in Montreal's Golden Square Mile, he was the second son of Sir Hugh Allan of Ravenscrag and his wife, Caroline Matilda Smith (1828–1881), daughter of John Smith (d. 1872) of Athelstane Hall, Montreal, and his wife Betsy Rae. From 1878, he was known as H. Montagu Allan to avoid confusion with his cousin Hugh Andrew Allan (1857–1938). He studied at Bishop's College School in Lennoxville, Quebec, then in Paris, before joining the family's shipping business, the Allan Line.
Business career
Allan rose to become deputy chairman of the Allan Line before retiring from the family business in 1912. By then, he was president of the Royal Securities Corporation, the Acadia Coal Company, the Canadian Rubber Company, the Canadian Paper Company, and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which he co-founded. He was a director and president of the Merchant's Bank of Canada (which had assets of $190 million in 1921) during its amalgamation into the Bank of Montreal in 1922. He also served as a Councillor and Treasurer of the Montreal Board of Trade.
He served on the board of directors of several major companies, including Canada Steamship Lines, Royal Trust Company, Montreal Light, Heat & Power, Montreal Rolling Mills, the Montreal Street Railway Company, the Ogilvie Flour Mills Company, the Montreal Investment Trust and the Guarantee Company of North America.
Other interests
Allan was Chairman of the Bishop's College School Association, President of the Montreal General Hospital, President of the St. Andrew's Society of Montreal, Vice-President of the Montreal Racquets Club, and he was one of the founders of the Mount Royal Club and the Winter Club. He was a leader in the Charity Organization Society and a director for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Allan was honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the 5th Regiment of The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada. In 1915, he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and accompanied them to Europe, where he fought in World War I.
Allan was an avid sportsman and outdoor enthusiast, and a member of a number of sporting clubs. He had a special passion for horses and served as Master of the Montreal Hunt, President of the Canadian Racing Association, Director of the Royal International Horse Show in London, President of the Montreal Jockey Club and Chairman of the Montreal Horse Show Association. He owned a thoroughbred horse-racing stable, and his horses won several Queen's Plates, Montreal Hunt Cups, Members' Plates and the Hunters' Handicap Steeplechase Cup.
Allan was created a Knight Bachelor by King Edward VII of the United Kingdom in 1906, and the following year was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. He held the Order of the Rising Sun of Japan (3rd Class), after entertaining Prince Fushimi Sadanaru at his Montreal home, Ravenscrag, where he also hosted Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII).
Among other clubs, Allan was a member of the St. James' Club, the Mount Royal Club, the Forest and Stream, The Toronto Club, the Rideau Club and the Manitoba Club. In New York City, he was a member of the Knickerbocker Club, and in London, he was a member of the Junior Carlton Club.
The Allan Memorial Cup
When the Stanley Cup was restricted to competition between professional ice hockey clubs, amateur teams no longer had a championship to which they could aspire. Allan was a well-known ice hockey enthusiast, and in 1908, he donated the Allan Cup, a trophy that would represent the highest level of achievement for amateur hockey teams across Canada.