SIMPSON, John, Canadian senator, born in Rothes, Scotland, in May, 1812; died in Bowmanville, Ontario, 21 March, 1885. He came in childhood with his parents to Upper Canada, where they settled at Perth. He entered mercantile life in 1825 as a clerk at Darlington, rose to be his employer's partner, and was for many years engaged in milling and as a general merchant. In 1848 he opened a branch of the Bank of Montreal at Bowmanville, and later he established one at Whitby. He was one of the most active of the founders of the Ontario bank in 1857, and was its president until a few years before his death. In 1856 Mr. Simpson was elected to the legislative council of Canada for Queen's division, and he represented it in that body till 1867, when he became a member of the Dominion senate. He was a Liberal in polities.