 sir adam beck (june 20, 1857 &ndash; august 15, 1925) was a politician and hydroelectricity advocate who founded the hydro-electric power commission of ontario.  ==biography== beck was born in baden, canada west (now ontario) to german immigrants, jacob beck and charlotte hespeler. he attended school at the rockwood academy in rockwood, ontario. as a teenager he worked in his father's foundry, and later established a cigar-box manufacturing company in galt (now cambridge, ontario) with his brother william. in 1885 he moved the company to london, ontario, where it quickly flourished and established beck as a wealthy and influential civic leader. he was also involved in horse breeding and racing, and at a horse show in 1897 he met lilian ottaway of hamilton daughter of cuthbert ottaway and marion stinson. lilian's mother, by then marion crerar, objected to their 21-year age difference â she was 19 and he 40 â as well as beck's love of horse racing, which they felt would keep him away from home. nevertheless, they were married on september 7, 1898. beck named their london mansion headley, after lilian's parents' home in surrey, england. in addition to horse breeding, for which he won numerous prizes, beck was also associated with tennis and lawn bowling. also in 1898, beck ran for provincial legislature for the first time, but 
1857_births 1925_deaths Canadian_Business_Hall_of_Fame Canadian_knights Canadian_people_of_German_descent Deaths_from_anemia Foundrymen Knights_Bachelor Mayors_of_London,_Ontario People_from_London,_Ontario People_from_Waterloo_Region,_Ontario Persons_of_National_Historic_Significance_(Canada) Progressive_Conservative_Party_of_Ontario_MPPs University_of_Western_Ontario_alumni