# Sir Thomas Skinner, 1st Baronet

Sir Thomas Skinner, 1st Baronet, (23 November 1840 – 11 May 1926), known as Sir Thomas Skinner, Esq. was a British-born financial writer, publisher, and businessman who became a Director of the Canadian Pacific Railway and of the Hudson's Bay Company.

## Early life

Thomas Skinner was born on 23 November 1840 in Bristol, England.
His father was James Skinner of Bristol. On 17 March 1866, he first married Sarah Margaret Hewitt, daughter of Jonas Barnett Hewitt of London. His son, Sir Thomas Hewitt Skinner, 2nd Baronet, was born on 12 June 1875. He later became a partner in his father's firm Thomas Skinner and Co.

## Career
### Publishing career

Around 21, as Joint-stock company activities flourished post-Companies Act 1862, he began his London-based writing career, later publishing his debut work after years of writing for provincial newspapers.

#### Stock Exchange Year Book

Between 1874 and 1875, he compiled and published the first edition of The Stock Exchange Year-Book, an annual publication covering an overview of joint-stock companies and public securities in the UK market for investors. It was first published at five shillings, and contained over 200 pages, gradually increasing year by year. By October 1883, it had reached its tenth year.

#### Directory of Directors

In May 1880, he compiled and edited the first annual publication of the Directory of Directors which was published in London. Skinner used company reports and other reliable sources to compile the information on around 6,000 directors and their companies in industry, commerce, and finance. The 1881 issue, published at the Royal Exchange buildings, featured 7,500 directors and grew from 272 to 384 pages.

#### The London Banks

That same year in 1880, the financial journalist set his sights on acquiring the copyright of London Banks and Kindred Companies and Firms, first published in December 1865 under the title The London Banks, Credit, Discount, and Finance Companies. In November 1880, Skinner replaced Edwin Utley as the chief editor and publisher of The London Banks, and Kindred Companies and Firms. The publication compiled information regarding banks and companies that made up the London Money Market. In 1881, the Leeds Mercury reported "Mr. Skinner has already added features to it which increase its value."

#### Bankers' Almanac

Sir Thomas Skinner later took over a semi-annual publication established in 1844-45 titled the Bankers' Almanac in East Grinstead, England. It became popularly known as "Skinner's" and was a directory of thousands of major banks in alphabetical order. The periodical London Banks and Kindred Companies and Firms was merged into the Bankers' Almanac in 1919.

### Canadian Pacific Railway Co.

In 1881, an invitation was extended for Skinner to become involved in Canadian interests. In February 1881, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company was incorporated to build and manage a transcontinental railway extending from St. John, New Brunswick, and Montreal, Quebec, to Vancouver, British Columbia. His understanding of London's financial markets supported efforts to secure funding for the Canadian Pacific Railway. He produced a weekly journal to provide information and promote the Canadian Pacific Railway during its construction.

#### Canada North-West Land Co.

In 1882, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company established the Anglo-Canadian Canada North-West Land Company, chaired by Sir Thomas Skinner.

#### The Canadian Gazette

Now chairman of the Canada North-West Land Company, in April 1883, he served as the founder, chief editor, and publisher of the Canadian Gazette. The London-based weekly paper featured Canadian news, emigration topics, and investment opportunities. It was primarily financed by George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen who had recently resigned as President of the Bank of Montreal to focus on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Skinner became regarded as a leading authority on Canadian investments.

#### CPR Director

In 1888, he was first elected to the Canadian Pacific Railway Company's Board of Directors as its London-based financial director.

#### Colonization Board

On 26 December 1888, a temporary board was created to oversee the migration of crofters and cottars from the Western Highlands and Scottish islands to the Dominion of Canada. The Crofter Emigration Board was composed of Schomberg Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian, the Secretary for Scotland; Sir Charles Tupper, the High Commissioner for the Dominion of Canada in London; Sir John Muir, 1st Baronet, the Lord Provost of Glasgow; and Thomas Skinner of the North-West Land Co. Officially appointed by Queen Victoria in 1891, for many years he served on the Colonization Board, set up to support Canadian colonization. The board had been reconstituted in November 1891, given extended authority over the Congested Districts Board for Ireland, and joined by Sir Horace Plunkett.
In August 1889, after traveling with CPR President William Cornelius Van Horne across the Canadian North-West, the CPR director, chairman of the Northwest Land Co., and royal commissioner was impressed by the region's condition and potential. He did, however, address a problem with a stretch of the Government Railway along the Thompson River.

### Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Co.

He was appointed chairman of the board of the Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Co. Ltd. in 1889, following a British financial syndicate's acquisition and merger of Pillsbury with a competitor.

### Hudson's Bay Co.

Thomas Skinner was appointed a member of the Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) on 29 July 1890 to replace Sir Charles Russell.

### Commercial Cable Co.

In April 1891, he was elected as a Director of the Commercial Cable Company which was registered in 1883. He announced the news to the public in The Canadian Gazette. The company was engaged in manufacturing and owning both underwater telegraph cables and land-based lines.

### Bank of Montreal

In 1894, Skinner became a member (and later chairman) of the London-based advisory committee of the Bank of Montreal on 22 Abchurch Lane. Serving from the mid-1890s to the 1920s, he worked on the committee with Alexander Lang and Sir Donald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, who presided over the bank's board of directors.
Recommended to the Canadian Government in 1894 as Peter Redpath's successor on the Imperial Institute's Council, representing the Northwest Territories, he accepted the role at their request. By this time, he lived at Broughton Lodge, Highgate, worked from 1 Royal Exchange Buildings, E.C., and was affiliated with London's Junior Athenaeum Club.
The Canadian Pacific Railway Company director worked closely on advancing railway interests with James J. Hill, the Canadian president of the Great Northern Railway, and George Stephen, former BMO president and cousin of Sir Donald A. Smith. He was among four who signed the London agreement on 10 May 1895 to acquire the Northern Pacific Railway for the Great Northern Railway.

### Halifax & Bermuda Co.

In 1897, London-based Sir Thomas Skinner held the roles of Trustee and Director for the Halifax and Bermudas Cable Company, alongside Sir Donald A. Smith. He also chaired the Board of Directors, including Charles R. Hosmer, T.G.H. G’ynn, and Joseph Rippon.

#### Direct West India Cable Co.

The Direct West India Cable Company Ltd. was founded on 2 August 1897 to take over a contract between the Halifax & Bermuda Co. and the British government for managing a submarine cable route linking Bermuda, Jamaica, and Turks Island. Following its registration on 1 September 1897, Sir Skinner maintained roles as Trustee and Director of the Direct West India Cable Company Ltd. alongside Lord Strathcona, serving as chairman at its British headquarters on Old Broad Street. Banking services for the company were provided by the Bank of Montreal. By 1915, his son Sir T. Hewitt Skinner was also a director of the firm.
At the end of the 19th century, Skinner was appointed Deputy Governor of Hudson's Bay Company in London, succeeding Earl of Lichfield Sir Donald Smith.

### Stock Exchange Gazette

In 1901, T. Skinner & Co. was publishing the Stock Exchange Gazette in London at 330 Gresham House. The publication edited by Sir Thomas Skinner issued weekly details of companies formed in Guernsey.

### Mackay Companies

In 1903, he was elected to The Mackay Companies, a voluntary association formed by Clarence H. Mackay (fellow Commercial Cable Company director) under the trust deed of 19 December 1902. The Commercial Cable Co. became a subsidiary under The Mackay Companies. Holding the entire capital stock of Commercial Cable Co., the association also owned full or partial shares in multiple telegraph and cable companies in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, including Postal Telegraph and Cable Co.
By October 1910, Skinner resided on 22 Pont Street in Chelsea, London and at The Gables, Worthing with offices at 77-81 Gresham House. He was a Justice of the peace of Middlesex.
He presented the President of The Canada Club in London with a chain and badge of office in 1909. London's Canada Club also hosted Skinner as a principal guest on 8 February 1912. Sir Thomas Skinner was granted the Skinner baronetcy, a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom, on 9 February 1912.

### HBC Governor

Following the death of Lord Strathcona, Sir Donald Smith, in 1914, who had served as Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company for 25 years, Sir Thomas Skinner succeeded him in the role. Skinner held the position for two years before resigning. On 19 September 1915, he sent his letter of resignation to committee member Robert Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley, who was subsequently elected as Governor in 1916. His son, T. Hewitt Skinner, 2nd Baronet, succeeded him on the committee.

### Laurentide Co.

In 1915, Sir Thomas Skinner was elected to the Laurentide Board of Directors. After the death of Sir William Van Horne, he replaced Montreal businessman Charles Hosmer who became vice-president. The Laurentide Company, Ltd., a manufacturer of wood pulp, paper, and cardboard, was incorporated under Canadian laws in 1911 and acquired the assets of the Laurentide Paper Co. Ltd. By 1920, Sir Thomas Skinner was serving on the boards of The Laurentide Company, Ltd., The Canadian Pacific Railway Company, and The Canada North-West Land Company, along with a number of other Canadian corporations. Skinner held a seat on the Laurentide board until 1923, and returned in 1924–25. He had gradually expanded his holdings in the company, owning 500 shares from 1903, increasing to 1,333 by 1911, and 3,999 shares from the 1920s until his passing.

## Death

Sir Thomas Skinner, 1st Baronet died on 11 May 1926 in Chelsea, London, England. His burial took place in Heene Cemetery.