Leslie Hancock
Marcus Leslie Hancock (March 10, 1892 – December 2, 1977) was an English-born horticulturist and politician in Ontario, Canada. He represented Wellington South in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1943 to 1945 as a Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) member.[1][2][3]
The son of Marcus Hancock and Caroline Dunn, he was born in Brabourne, Kent, came to Canada in 1914 and was educated at the Ontario Agricultural College. Hancock worked as a nurseryman, landscape designer and horticulture instructor. He served with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry from 1915 to 1919, reaching the rank of lieutenant. From 1923 to 1927, he was a horticulturist at Nanking University in China. In 1924, he married Dorothy Macklin. Hancock was a teacher at the Ontario Agricultural College from 1932 to 1943.[1] During World War II, he was able to help a number of Japanese-Canadians avoid a stay in an internment camp by hiring them to live and work on his garden property.[4]
He was known as a breeder of rhododendrons.[5] In 1972, Hancock founded the Rhododendron Society of Canada. He died of heart failure at the age of 85.[6]
The Leslie Hancock Garden at the Montreal Botanical Garden was named in his honour.[7]
His son was urban planner Macklin Leslie Hancock.[4]
References
- 1 2 Normandin, A L (1944). Canadian Parliamentary Guide.
- ↑ "Leslie Hancock, MPP". Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
- ↑ "Marcus Leslie Hancock (10 mars 1892 - 2 décembre 1977)" (in French). Bibliothèque du jardin botanique.
- 1 2 "Silence speaks volumes in heart of Hancock Woodlands". The Mississauga News. July 27, 2014.
- ↑ Hatch, Laurence C. BIOH: Biographies in Ornamental Horticulture. p. 53.
- ↑ "Qui était Leslie Hancock ?". agri.com (in French).
- ↑ "80 years of history & archives at the Botanical Garden". City of Montreal.