Sir Herbert Brown Ames
Member of the Canadian Parliament for St. Antoine
In office 1904 – 1921
Preceded by	Thomas George Roddick
Succeeded by	Walter George Mitchell
Born	June 27, 1863(1863-06-27) Montreal, Canada East
Died	March 31, 1954 (aged 90) Montreal, Quebec
Political party	Conservative

Sir Herbert Brown Ames (June 27, 1863 – March 31, 1954) was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist and politician.

Ames was born in Montreal as the only son of Evan Fisher Ames (who founded the shoe manufacturer Ames, Holden & Company in 1856) and Caroline Matilda Brown. Ames inherited the family shoe company and later worked in insurance but used much of his fortune to help the poor and fight corruption. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College in 1885. He helped organize the Volunteer Electoral League and became alderman (City Councillor) in Montreal in 1898 and served until 1906. He became a Member of Parliament in 1904 representing the Conservative Party of Canada and served until 1920. In 1919 he served as a financial director for the League of Nations. He is best known for his book The city below the hill: a sociological study of a portion of the city of Montreal, Canada, which originally appeared in the form of newspaper articles in the Montreal Star in 1897. the book offered a sociological and statistical analysis of the conditions of the poor people in Griffintown and Point St. Charles, just south of downtown Montreal. Ames was an avid philanthropist and funded a 39 unit apartment housing complex on William Street between Shannon and Ann for the poor called Diamond Court (see image). It has since been demolished.

He died in Montreal in 1954. Herbert-Brown-Ames Park in Montreal is named in his honour.

Diamond Court (circa 1909)

[edit] References

• Herbert Brown Ames at The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Synopsis of federal political experience from the Library of Parliament