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Description area
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History
George Munro was born in 1825 in West River, Nova Scotia, to John Munro and Mary Mathieson. After being apprenticed in the printing trade at the age of twelve, he continued his education in New Glasgow and at Pictou Academy. In 1850 Munro was teaching mathematics and natural philosophy at the Free Church Academy in Halifax. Two years later he was appointed rector (principal) of the academy and was preparing himself for the Presbyterian ministry. However, in 1856 he resigned both his position and his ambition to the clergy and moved to New York City, where he eventually made his fortune publishing reprints of modern English works.
Munro's ties to Nova Scotia remained strong and he sent both his sons to be educated at Dalhousie College in the late 1870s and 1880s. It was during this period that he donated over $300,000 to the college, saving Dalhousie from collapse. He is recognized as Dalhousie's first major benefactor and the university's February holiday is named in his honour. George Munro died in 1896.