Thomas Bassett Macaulay

Thomas Bassett Macaulay, also known as T. B. Macaulay, (6 June 1860 – 3 April 1942) is a noted actuary of his era, a philanthropist; and was the founder of the Macaulay Institute, in 1930. It has been estimated that most of the world's Holstein cattle descend from Macaulay's herd.

Background Thomas Bassett Macaulay was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the son of Barbara Marie Reid and the Scottish-born Robertson Macaulay (1833–1915), who emigrated to Canada in 1854. The family were descendants of the Macaulay family of Lewis, and were patrilineal descendants of the 17th century Uig folk-hero Donald Cam Macaulay. Robertson Macaulay married Barbara Marie Reid, and moved his family to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, when he was offered a position there with Sun Life Assurance Company. He served as president for 20 years, before his retirement as chairman. He was one of four Canadian charter members of the Actuarial Society of America. Macaulay represented the actuaries of both Canada and the United States at the International Congresses, held in Paris and Berlin, in the years 1900 and 1906. He was also a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, president of the Canadian Life Assurance Officers' Association, and president of the Canadian West Indian League and became an honorary president of the Navy League of Canada. In 1915 he became president of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.

In 1914 he became one of the inaugural fellows of the American Statistical Association. In 1917, he was the chairman of the National Committee on Food Resources, he also was the governor of the Montreal General Hospital, as well as the Fraser-Hickson Institute public library in Montreal. Macaulay and farm manager, Joe Chandler, bought a bull named "Johanna Rag Apple Pabst" (also known as "Old Joe"), for $15,000. The bull sired 51 bulls and 44 cows; after Macaulay's death in 1942, the herd was dispersed and went on to produce most of the pure-breds in the world. For his work as a breeder and farmer and his devotion to the advancement of agriculture in the province of Quebec, Thomas Bassett Macaulay was posthumously inducted to the Agricultural Hall of Fame of Quebec in 1992

Family In 1881, Macaulay married Henrietta M. L. Bragg, from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Bragg was the niece of US Confederate Army general Braxton Bragg. The couple had one son, followed by three daughters, and finally another son. One of their children was Frederick Macaulay, best known for his work on bond durations. Macaulay had two later marriages. In 1912, he married Margaret Allan of London, England; in 1920, he married Margaret Palin of Gloucester, England. He did not have any children in his later two marriages.