Editing Hiram Walker (section)

{{Short description|American entrepreneur (1816-1899)}}
{{Infobox person
|name          = Hiram Walker
|image         = hwalkerpic.jpg
|caption       = Hiram Walker, from a painting that hangs in Willistead Manor, Windsor, Ontario
|birth_name    = 
|birth_date    = {{birth date|1816|7|4}}
|birth_place   = [[East Douglas, Massachusetts]], US
|death_date    = {{death date and age|1899|1|12|1816|7|4}}
|death_place   = [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], 
US|death_cause   = 
|resting_place = 
|resting_place_coordinates = 
|nationality   = [[Americans|American]]
|other_names   = 
|known_for     = founder of [[Canadian Club]] whisky
|education     = 
|employer      = 
|occupation    = 
|title         = 
|height        = 
|term          = 
|predecessor   = 
|successor     = 
|party         = 
|boards        = 
|spouse        = Mary Abigail Williams 
|partner       = 
|parents       = Willis Walker and Ruth Buffum
|children     = Elizabeth Walker, Jennie Walker, Willis Ephraim Walker, Edward Chandler Walker, Franklin Hiram Walker, Alfred Walker, James Harrington Walker
|signature     = Hiram Walker Signature Final.png
|website       = 
|footnotes     = 
}}
'''Hiram Walker''' (July 4, 1816 – January 12, 1899) was an American entrepreneur and founder of the Hiram Walker and Sons Ltd. distillery in [[Windsor, Ontario]], Canada.  Walker was born in [[East Douglas, Massachusetts]], and moved to [[Detroit]] in 1838.<ref>{{citation |title=Walkerville in 1894 |newspaper=Detroit Sunday News-Tribune |date=June 3, 1894}} Rpr. in {{citation |title=Walkerville in 1894: A View of Hiram Walker through Contemporary Eyes |editor-first= Kevin B. |editor-last=Casey |journal=Spirit |date=Spring 1961 |pages=9–11}}.</ref> He purchased land across the [[Detroit River]], just east of what is [[Windsor, Ontario]], and established a distillery in 1858 in what would become [[Walkerville, Ontario]].<ref name="Legacy of Hiram Walker">{{citation |title=The Legacy of Hiram Walker: 'Born on the Fourth of July'|journal=Willistead Classic |date=January 1, 1994 |page=10}}</ref> Walker began selling his [[whisky]] as Hiram Walker's Club Whisky, in containers that were "clearly marked" and he used a process to make his whisky that was vastly different from all other distillers.<ref>{{citation |last=Millman |first=Brock |title=The Walker Legac |journal=Windsor Life Holiday Issue |date=December 1, 1993 |page=17}}</ref>

It became very popular, angering American distillers, who forced the US government to pass a law requiring that all foreign whiskeys state their [[country of origin]] on the label.<ref name="Brown 1995">{{citation |last=Brown |first=Lorraine |title=Canadian Whiskey — The Unsung Story |publisher=Willistead Classic |date=January 1, 1995 |page=11}} — Rpt from. {{citation |last=Brown |first=Lorraine |title=200 Years of Tradition: The Story of Canadian Whisky |location=Markham, Ont. |publisher=Fitzhenry & Whiteside |year=1994}}</ref> From this point forward, Hiram Walker's [[Canadian Club]] whisky was Canada's top export whisky.<ref name="Brown 1995"/> He established and maintained the company town that grew around his distillery, exercising planning and control over every facet of the town, from [[public works]] to religious services to police and fire control.<ref>''Essex County Sketches'', Essex County Tourist Association, 1947</ref>

The Hiram Walker & Sons Distillery remained in the Walker family until 1926 when they sold it to [[Harry C. Hatch]] for $15,000,000, {{Inflation|index=US|value=15000000|start_year=1926|fmt=eq}}.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=1927-01-10 |title=Business: Business Notes, Jan. 10, 1927 |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,881626,00.html |access-date=2023-01-12 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> While the company has gone through several owners and is now part of [[Pernod Ricard]], the Canadian Club brand is owned by [[Suntory Global Spirits]], a subsidiary of [[Suntory|Suntory Holdings]] of Japan. Canadian Club whisky is still produced at the distillery site Walker founded.