Lester B. Pearson, Ontario, Canada

Lester B. Pearson (1897–1972), Canadian politician and diplomat who served as prime minister of Canada (1963–68). He was prominent as a mediator in international disputes, and in 1957 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. Pearson served in World War I (1914–18) and lectured in history at the University of Toronto (1924–28), after studying there and at the University of Oxford. He joined the Canadian foreign service in 1928 and became first secretary in the Department of External Affairs. He served on two royal commissions (1931) and as counselor of the Canadian high commissioner’s office in London (1935).