Researching William Ross

For some years he was a member of the Conservative Monday Club (which followed the Tory tradition of being Conservative and Unionist). In September 1982 he was chairman of the club's Northern Ireland Committee when it published a Policy Paper entitled Proposals for a Constitutional Settlement [for Ulster].

As Chief Whip of the Ulster Unionist Parliamentary Party from 1987 to 1995, in an attempt to derail multi-party talks initiated by Peter Brooke (the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland), in February 1990 Ross unsuccessfully introduced a Private Member's Bill, the Northern Ireland Act 1974 (Amendment) Bill, to provide that laws for Northern Ireland may not be made by (non-amendable) Orders-in-Council but by (amendable) Bill introduced into the United Kingdom Parliament, and repeatedly called on the then Conservative Government to implement its 1979 Conservative General Election Manifesto commitment to "establish one or more elected regional councils with a wide range of powers over local services" (in Northern Ireland), which had been drafted by the then UUP Leader Jim Molyneaux and adopted by the late Airey Neave (then Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland) in 1978.

Following Jim (later Lord) Molyneaux's retirement as UUP Leader, Ross unsuccessfully stood for the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party in September 1995 and, although a close confidant and supporter of Molyneaux throughout the latter's leadership of the UUP, quickly became a very vocal opponent of the policies and style of newly elected UUP Leader David Trimble.

In June 2008, it was announced that he had been made the party president of Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV).

William Ross stood for the TUV in the 2010 UK General Election in the East Londonderry Constituency.

Ross was raised in a secular Jewish family that moved from the Ukraine to Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1917. He was originally named Cecil Zuken, but legally changed his name in 1936 (in part to protect his family from anti-Communist harassment). His brother Joseph Zuken also became a Communist politician, and was for many years a prominent alderman from Winnipeg's working-class North End.

With the editorial backing of Dos Yiddishe Vort (a local Jewish newspaper), Ross was elected to the Winnipeg school board in 1936 and served in that capacity until 1939. He was also active in labour organization outside the city, and was imprisoned for six months on sedition charges after leading a strike in Flin Flon. In 1940, Ross campaigned for Leslie Morris in the federal riding of Winnipeg North, and thereby contributed to the defeat of Co-operative Commonwealth Federation incumbent Abraham Albert Heaps, the most prominent Jewish politician in the city.

Ross first ran for provincial office in the 1945 election, campaigning for the "Labor-Progressive Party" (as the Communist Party had renamed itself) in the riding of Assiniboia. He finished well behind the winner, Ernest Draffin of the Manitoba CCF.

Ross became leader of the provincial LPP on December 12, 1948, being elected by acclamation after former leader Bill Kardash resigned due to health concerns. Ross did not run in the election of 1949 because of a decision by the party to concentrate its resources—the LPP ran only two candidates, one of whom was elected. Ross continued to lead the LPP (which was renamed the Communist Party in 1959) for thirty-three years, though he was unable to prevent it from declining to a marginal political force.

Ross and Joseph Zuken had a strained relationship in the 1970s, due to Zuken's frequent criticisms of the Soviet Union and official Communist Party policy. While Zuken voiced concerns about anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union and restrictions on Jewish travel, Ross was unwilling to make public statements which violated the principle of party unity. Ross defended the Communist government of Czechoslovakia against accusations of anti-Semitism in 1952, following the trials of Rudolf Slánský and others.

Despite their differences, the brothers remained close throughout their lives. Ross played a prominent role at Zuken's funeral in 1986.

During the 1980s, Ross wrote in opposition to the Winnipeg School Board's education policy concerning the Ukrainian famine of the early 1930s. Ross acknowledged the death of millions, but denied that the government of Joseph Stalin had consciously planned an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people. (Mary Kardash, a Winnipeg school trustee of Ukrainian background, made essentially the same arguments as Ross during the course of these debates).

Ross's wife, Anne Ross, was also a public figure, serving as an administrator at the Mount Carmel Clinic in Winnipeg. In the early 1970s, this clinic became involved in a public controversy over its decision to offer abortion referral services.

Ross campaigned for federal and provincial office a total of fourteen times. Aside from the 1945 campaign mentioned above, he was a candidate in:

*Winnipeg Ward Two (municipal), 1953 Winnipeg election, (635 votes)*Winnipeg North Centre (federal), 1953 (1606 votes), winner: Stanley Knowles (CCF)*Winnipeg North (federal), 1957 (1579 votes), winner: Alistair Stewart (CCF)*Winnipeg North (federal), 1958 (1503 votes), winner: Murray Smith (PC)*Burrows (provincial), 1959 (675 votes), winner: John Hawryluk (CCF)*Winnipeg North (federal), 1962 (1504 votes), winner: David Orlikow (NDP)*Inkster (provincial), 1966 (312 votes), winner: Sidney Green (NDP)*Winnipeg North (federal), 1968 (869 votes), winner: David Orlikow (NDP)*Winnipeg North (federal), 1972 (587 votes), winner: David Orlikow (NDP)*St. Johns (provincial), 1973 (66 votes), winner: Saul Cherniack (NDP)*Winnipeg North (federal), 1974 (390 votes), winner: David Orlikow (NDP)*Winnipeg North (federal), 1979 (242 votes), winner: David Orlikow (NDP)*Winnipeg North (federal), 1980 (195 votes), winner: David Orlikow (NDP)*St. Johns (provincial), 1981 (117 votes), winner: Donald Malinowski (NDP)

A lawyer by training, Ross practised law in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He also pursued business interests such as helping found the Halifax Electric Tramway Company Limited. Ross was appointed to the Senate of Canada as a Conservative in 1912 by Sir Robert Borden.

In January 1926, he was appointed Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian Senate by Tory leader Arthur Meighen, and served briefly as Government Leader in the Canadian Senate when Meighen formed a short-lived government later that year. After the Conservatives lost the 1926 election, Ross resumed his position as Opposition Leader. Ross remained in that position until his death in 1929.

Born in 1869 in Bras d'Or, Nova Scotia, Ross went to work for the Bank of Nova Scotia emptying wastebaskets at the age of 14. The family farm had failed and Ross left school in order to earn money . He rose through the ranks, becoming manager of branches in Stellarton and New Glasgow before becoming manager of the Charlottetown branch at the age of 24.

In 1901, he joined the Ministry of Finance in Ottawa before becoming general manager of the Metropolitan Bank of Toronto and moving to Toronto with his wife and children. In his new city, Ross helped find the funds to found Branksome Hall, a new private school for girls, operated by his cousin. In 1914, the Metropolitan Bank was acquired by the Bank of Nova Scotia, where Ross would ultimately become vice-president and sit on the board of directors.

Ross's first wife, Susan Archibald McGregor, died in 1909. Her father would become Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. They had three children: Donald, Isabel and Susan. He later married Isabel MacKay and they had two children: Jean and John.

A supporter of and fundraiser for the Liberal Party of Canada, Ross was appointed as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario by Governor General Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, on the advice of William Lyon Mackenzie King, in 1926. He asked to be relieved from office in 1931 due to the onset of the Great Depression as his income from private investments declined and he was no longer sufficient to supplement the $10,000 annual salary he received in his vice-regal role.

In 1937, Ross became co-owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team. His son Donald became club president.

He died in Toronto in 1947.

Born on Boularderie Island, Nova Scotia, the son of John Ross, a Scottish immigrant, and Robina McKenzie, Ross was a merchant and shipbuilder. In 1855, he married Eliza Moore. He represented Victoria County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1857 to 1867. He was elected to the 1st Canadian Parliament in 1867. From 1873 to 1874, he was the Minister of Militia and Defence. Ross resigned his seat in the House of Commons in 1874 after he was named customs collector for Halifax and served until 1888.

Ross also served as a Lieutenant-colonel in the Cape Breton Militia.

In 1905, he was summoned to the Senate of Canada representing the senatorial division of Victoria, Nova Scotia. A Liberal, he served until his death in 1912.

Ross is the arranger for Andrea Bocelli's version of Amazing Grace performed during his concert "Andrea Bocelli: Music For Hope - Live From Duomo di Milano", broadcast live on YouTube to over 25 million viewers on April 12, 2020.

Ross has worked with artists and musicians ranging from Hollywood composers John Williams, Alan Silvestri, John Powell, Michael Giacchino, Klaus Badelt, and Michael Kamen, to pop music artists including Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, Laura Pausini, Whitney Houston, Kenny G, Michael Jackson, David Foster, Quincy Jones, Babyface and Sting. He has also arranged the music for multiple Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies from 1998 to 2010.

Ross composed the soundtrack for films such as Tuck Everlasting, My Dog Skip, Young Black Stallion and Ladder 49. He adapted and conducted John Williams's themes for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. In 2008, he scored the CGI-film The Tale of Despereaux, from Universal Studios.

Ross is the Music Director for many shows and artists, including Barbra Streisand's 2006 US tour and 2007 European tour, as well as the 79th, 83rd, 85th and 86th Academy Awards. Ross regularly arranges and conducts the Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre, overseeing all music cues throughout the broadcast.

William Ross is credited on The Last Jedi soundtrack as an additional conductor. His work is featured on the Universal Orlando theme park ride Skull Island: Reign of Kong.

He was born in Prince Albert, Canada West, the son of Aaron Ross and Lucinda Fitchett, and was educated in Port Perry and at the British American Commercial College in Toronto. Ross was a grain dealer and operated a general store. In 1877, he married Clara J. Bingham. Ross served on the village council for Port Perry and was reeve for two years. He also served as chairman of the school board. Ross ran unsuccessfully for reelection to the House of Commons in 1904.

He was born in Fort Chipewyan, Athabasca, the son of Donald Ross, and was educated at St. John's College in Winnipeg. Ross was called to the Manitoba bar in 1890. He practised in Winnipeg from 1890 to 1896 and then at Fort Steele from 1897 to 1900. Ross moved to Fernie in 1901. He married Leila Young. In 1906, he was named King's Counsel. Ross served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Lands from 1910 to 1913 and from 1915 to 1916. He died in Cranbrook at the age of 58.

He was born near Moose Jaw, the son of George M. Ross and Flora McGillivray, and was educated there and at Queen's University. Ross then studied law and was called to the Saskatchewan bar in 1915. In the same year, he married Dorothea L. Scott. He served on the Moose Jaw City Council. In 1917, Ross ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the provincial assembly. He was first elected in a 1927 by-election held after William Erskine Knowles was named a judge; he was defeated when he ran for reelection in 1929. Ross was president of the Moose Jaw Red Cross Society and served on the board of governors for the Moose Jaw General Hospital. After leaving politics, Ross was named to the Saskatchewan Court of King's Bench. He died of cancer in Rochester, Minnesota.

Ross was born in 1825 in Liverpool, England, He was an insurance broker for the Liverpool, London and Globe Insurance Company, and moved to Melbourne in 1852, working at the company's Collins Street office. In 1857, Ross began buying land for future subdivision and development. Purchasing in the middle of Caulfield, he went on to buy a further acres in 1859, and then a massive . By the mid-1860s, he was the primary holder of more than one-fifth of Caulfield, worth about £20,000

In 1875, he launched his new suburb of Rosstown, running this advertisement in the Argus:

Ross died in 1904. His failed sugar beet mill, which had been known for many years as "Ross's Folly", was demolished in 1908.