Vincent Massey

The Right Honourable Vincent Massey PC CH CC CD FRSC(hon)
Massey, c. 1956
18th Governor General of Canada
In office February 28, 1952 – September 15, 1959
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Louis St. Laurent John Diefenbaker
Preceded by	The Viscount Alexander of Tunis
Succeeded by	Georges Vanier
7th High Commissioner of Canada to the United Kingdom
In office 1935–1946
Prime Minister	William Lyon Mackenzie King
Preceded by	Howard Ferguson
Succeeded by	Norman Robertson
1st Envoy Extraordinary of Canada to the United States
In office November 25, 1926 – July 23, 1930
Prime Minister	William Lyon Mackenzie King
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	William Duncan Herridge
Personal details
Born	Charles Vincent Massey (1887-02-20)February 20, 1887 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died	December 30, 1967(1967-12-30) (aged 80) London, England
Spouse	Alice Massey ​ ​ (m. 1915; died 1950)​
Children	Lionel Massey Hart Parkin Vincent Massey II
Relatives	Raymond Massey (brother) Daniel Massey (nephew) Anna Massey (niece)
Alma mater	University College, Toronto Balliol College, Oxford
Profession	Diplomat
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Non-Permanent Active Militia
Years of service	1907 - 1915
Rank	Lieutenant Captain
Unit	Queen's Own Rifles (1907-14) University of Toronto Officer Corps (1915)
Battles/wars	First World War

Charles Vincent Massey PC CH CC CD FRSC(hon)^{[n 1]} (February 20, 1887 – December 30, 1967) was a Canadian diplomat and statesman who served as the 18th governor general of Canada from 1952 to 1959. Massey was the first governor general of Canada who was born in Canada.

Massey was born into an influential Toronto family and was educated in Ontario and England, obtaining a degree in history and befriending future prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King while studying at the University of Oxford. He was commissioned into the military in 1917 for the remainder of the First World War and, after a brief stint in the Canadian Cabinet, began his diplomatic career, serving in envoys to the United States and United Kingdom. Upon his return to Canada in 1946, Massey headed a royal commission on the arts between 1949 and 1951, which resulted in the Massey Report and subsequently the establishment of the National Library of Canada and the Canada Council of the Arts, among other grant-giving agencies. In 1952 he was appointed Governor General by King George VI on the recommendation of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, to replace the Viscount Alexander of Tunis as viceroy, and he occupied the post until succeeded by Georges Vanier in 1959.

On September 16, 1925, Massey was sworn into the King's Privy Council for Canada, giving him the accordant style of The Honourable. However, Massey was later, as a former Governor General of Canada, entitled to be styled for life with the superior form of The Right Honourable. He subsequently continued his philanthropic work and founded Massey College at the University of Toronto and the Massey Lectures before he died on December 30, 1967.

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