Article

William Eric Phillips

Published Online June 4, 2008

Last Edited October 20, 2014

William Eric Phillips, financier, industrialist (b at Toronto 3 Jan 1893; d at Palm Beach, Fla 26 Dec 1964). In Europe at the outbreak of WWI, Eric Phillips joined the British army, winning both the DSO and the Military Cross, and becoming lieutenant-colonel.

William Eric Phillips

William Eric Phillips, financier, industrialist (b at Toronto 3 Jan 1893; d at Palm Beach, Fla 26 Dec 1964). In Europe at the outbreak of WWI, Eric Phillips joined the British army, winning both the DSO and the Military Cross, and becoming lieutenant-colonel. After the war he served in Poland before leaving the army in 1920. He married the daughter of R.S. MCLAUGHLIN and established his own company, W.E. Phillips Ltd, in Oshawa, Ontario, in 1922. In 1940 C.D. HOWE recruited him to head Research Enterprises Ltd, making optical glass, range finders, binoculars and radar components. Between 1940 and 1946 Research Enterprises sold $220-million worth of equipment. At the end of WWII, Phillips joined E.P. TAYLOR in ARGUS CORP, becoming chairman of this investment firm. In 1945 he was appointed chairman of the board of governors of University of Toronto and became known for strong and decisive management of the business and financial affairs of the university.