Given the question: Facts: - residence: toronto - birth date: 3 december 1942 - name: kirk howard - nationality: canadian - birth place: hamilton , ontario , canada - occupation: president of dundurn press Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of kirk howard .
The answer is:
john kirk howard -lrb- born december 3 , 1942 -rrb- is a canadian book publisher and founder and president of dundurn press , one of the largest independently owned publishing houses in canada .in 2012 , howard became a recipient of the queen 's diamond jubilee medal '' for publishing over decades a range of books on canadian heritage . ''born in hamilton , ontario , howard began his professional career teaching at a community college in sarnia .there he helped establish the first canadian studies program in ontario .after attending a speech by canadian publishing icon jack mcclelland , howard , who had been frustrated by the lack of books on canadian history , made the decision to venture into publishing .