What social phenomenon was provoked by the announcement of the will of Canadian lawyer Charles Millar in 1928. Greatest posthumous joke of the century

The first was that a slender, fit 73-year-old bachelor who had never been sick a day in his entire life suddenly collapsed to the floor in his office and died. The secretary was shocked. The second surprise was his will: it turned out to be so extraordinary, provocative, and its consequences so sensational that this legal document surpassed everything that Millar, a well-known corporate lawyer, had done in a lifetime.

No one imagined that a respected Toronto lawyer and businessman would put on such a grandiose show in the press after his death. It seems that Millar wanted to show that for a certain price you can buy everything and everyone. Having made a will according to all the rules of legal art, this respected gentleman set a precedent for the greatest posthumous, as journalists noted, "the joke of the century."

Biography of Charles Millar

Charles Vance Millar was born in 1853 to a poor farmer's family in Aylmer, Ontario. A bright schoolboy and later a successful student, he received many awards including a gold medal from the University of Toronto. His average mark in all subjects was 98! Equally impressive was his performance at Ozgood Hall Law School. This ambitious young man was admitted to the bar in 1881 and soon opened his own office in Toronto.

Millar started small, but rented a lawyer-style apartment - several furnished rooms in Toronto's "Royal" hotel. Over time, his name sounded among successful corporate lawyers, experts in the field of contract law.

Since the practice of law did not bring very high income at first, Millar bought the British Columbia Express Company with the right to transport government mail to the Caribou area. When construction began on the Grand Trunk railway company, he expanded the scope of his activities to include remote Fort George (later Prince George).

It is known that Millar wanted to buy land for the Indians at Fort George, but it was bought by the railroad. Millar sued, citing some procedural violations, and won the case: the court ordered the railroad to allocate 200 acres to the lawyer (in judicial practice this has since been called "Millar's allowance").

Possessing a sharp business acumen, Millar profitably bought tenement houses, and, on shares with the Chief Justice of Ontario, acquired a steamship; in addition, he became the president and owner of a controlling stake in the O'Keeffe beer company (beer of this brand is still sold).

His hobbies were horses and racing. Millar was lucky: he had a reputation as a successful player, and two of his horses took first prizes at prestigious races. By the end of his life, there were 7 magnificent running stallions in his stable.

This lucky man had another hobby: he liked to joke and play tricks on his friends. Especially caustic jokes were subjected to people prone to stupid greed.

Millar's friends and colleagues remembered him as a loving and devoted son. After the death of his father, Millar left the "Royal" hotel, where he lived for 23 years, and bought a large house for himself and his widowed mother. Beloved mother sometimes scolded her son that he worked so hard and did not find time to marry. However, one can only guess why he never married. She was also worried that her son slept on the cold veranda at any time of the year. However, there was no reason for fear: Charles never caught a cold. And it seemed that he would live a century.

The funeral of Charles Millar brought together many prominent figures in the legal, business and sports circles, not only in Toronto, but throughout the province. The Reverend T. Cotton, a minister of the Anglican Church, spoke highly in his speech about the moral qualities, devotion and decency of the deceased. And that was the last time a church spokesman said anything good about Charles Millar.

After reading the will

After reading and publishing the will, something unimaginable began. Politicians, lawyers, businessmen, church ministers, and relatives of the deceased were shocked. As the reporters wrote: "Apparently, Millar's provocative testament is intended to entertain the 'high and powerful' members of society who impose their definition of morality on the general public."

At the beginning of the document, Millar wrote: “By necessity, this testament is unusual and whimsical. I have no heirs or close relatives, so there are no standard obligations to me about how to dispose of my property after death.”

At the beginning of the will, Millar listed several of his loyal assistants and collaborators and assigned small sums to them. He left nothing to distant relatives, explaining that if they hoped that he would leave them something, they would look forward to his imminent death, which he did not wish for himself.

To each ordained clergyman in Sandwich, Walkerville, and Windsor, Ontario, Millar left one part of his stake in the Kenilvert Jockey Club, knowing full well their strong opposition to gambling.

He ordered a share of the shares of the Catholic-owned O'Keeffe Beer Company to be given to every Protestant congregation in Toronto and to every parish priest who publicly fight against drunkenness without naming anyone. The result was stunning: a huge number of church ministers came to court, demanding their shares.

For one judge and priest who were vehemently opposed to betting on horse races (here he named names), he offered tidbits of the Ontario Jockey Club on the condition that they join the club within three years. Which they did (however, having received their shares, they left the club).

To three lawyer friends who were friends with Millar, but could not stand each other, the prankster Charles left a beautiful house in Jamaica with such casuistic notes that from now on they had to share the house, restraining themselves so as not to use their fists.

But all this was innocent pranks in comparison with the main 9th paragraph of this sensational testament. Charles Millar bequeathed the remainder of his wealth (more than half a million dollars) to the woman in Toronto who, within 10 years after his death, would give birth to the most legitimate children, which would be strictly recorded in the birth document.

So, the will was announced; moreover, it appeared on the front pages of the Toronto newspapers. The “big show” began, the heyday of which, we note, fell on the years of the Great Depression. Relatives tried to protest the will, teetotal clerics were eager to get their share of “beer shares”, lawyers of various courts were looking for ways to cash in on doing business. And even the Supreme Court of Canada (!) considered this will on behalf of the Supreme Court of Ontario, which wanted to achieve the transfer of the inheritance to the government of Ontario, ostensibly with the aim of establishing a scholarship fund at the University of Toronto.

But it was not for nothing that Millar was the best lawyer of his time for 45 years, and in terms of drafting wills, he was unsurpassed. He spelled out all the points so carefully (albeit in his usual playful way) that there was not the slightest reason to dispute them. For 10 years, the best lawyers in the country have been trying to do this - without success.

Great stork race

9 months after Millar's death, the "battle" for the main part of the inheritance began! It caused a lot of publications and discussions in all print media of that time. All mothers who gave birth to twins or triplets immediately became contenders and their names did not leave the printed pages. In the press there was a daily column called "The Greatest Stork Race" (what a lot of work it took for the papers!), which published lists of women and the number of their children born at the moment.

The church insultedly announced that Millar's will was immoral, as it called into question the sanctity of conception and birth, and delivered angry sermons against the lawyer. The pastors exhorted the women not to take part in this “bad joke.” “But what does it mean not to take? women asked, “not to have children?”

When the Attorney General of Ontario filed a case to set up the aforementioned scholarship fund at the University of Toronto, Torontonians were furious. They insisted that Charles Millar was completely sane when he wrote his will, and that no politician would dare to encroach on the rights of women who wish to bear children. Protests erupted throughout the province. The feminists emphasized that the remaining clauses of the will had already been paid, and the first to receive money under this will were the clergy and lawyers!

So 10 years have passed. On the tenth anniversary of Charles Millar's death, the Ontario court again read the terms of the will and considered the list of contenders. Two women were eliminated from the "finalists". Pauline Clark had 9 children, but one was not by her husband. Lillian Kenny actually had 12 children, but five of them died in infancy, and she could not prove that they were not stillborn. Each of which they gave a consolation prize of $12,500.

On October 31, 1936, the “great stork race” ended in a draw between Anna-Catherine Smith, Kathleen-Elyn Nagl, Lucy-Alice Timlek and Isabelle-Mary McLean (all of whom had 9 children in 10 years). They received 125,000 (which in our time is about 1.5 million US dollars).

The “Great Stork Race” received more press coverage than Charles Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic and even the birth of five twins to Madame Dion. divorces.The following questions were also raised: what is meant by the word "Toronto", whether to count dead and illegitimate children, and most importantly, was paragraph 9 legal at all? But Millar foresaw everything.

Ironically, many participants in the "race" were not going to start large families at all. After all, we did not mention those who were left behind, having given birth to 7-8 children. Note that half of the "stork races" fell on the years of depression, when extra mouths were in families to anything. Two of the 4 winners had husbands without work at all, and their families were on welfare. Two other husbands worked, but received low wages. And Pauline Clark divorced and gave birth to her last child, no longer from her husband.

Fortunately, the prizes really helped the winners. All of them managed their money wisely, raised wonderful children, and did not stint on their education. And the television movie "The Great Stork Race" immortalized this amazing competition.

It was said that by provoking an explosion of uncontrolled births, the old bachelor hoped to embarrass the government and religious circles that were contemplating control policies. They also joked that the childless bachelor Charles Millar “adopted” 36 children in this way.

Well, Charles Millar put on a good performance showing how far people are willing to go to get someone's money. Perhaps this was the most outstanding achievement of the lawyer Millar.

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(Charles Vance Millar 1821-1926) Canadian lawyer, without direct heirs, who became famous after his death, thanks to his will.
When they came to Millar's lawyer to get acquainted with the last will of the deceased, he replied: “Forgive me, gentlemen, this is not a will, but some kind of joke. I need to figure it out." The joke turned out to be a reality and became an attraction of human greed for the next 12 years, in which Millar's lawyer had to defend his last will.

1. He divided the shares of the elite Ontario Jockey Club among three people, two of whom were ardent supporters of the closure of horse racing and any sweepstakes in general. They had to temporarily join this club in order to sell their shares. And the third, a rare swindler and gambler who otherwise would never have been a member of this club, got his membership.

2. He distributed one share of the Kenilworth Jockey Club among the practicing priests of the three neighboring towns. The joke was that the club was completely bankrupt. Everyone who owned his shares tried to get rid of them and their value at that time was only half a cent.

3. He also bequeathed one share of the O "Keefe brewery to each practicing Protestant priest in Toronto and most of the priests accepted them. Although, as it turned out later, in fact, he did not own these shares (and even the plant was under the "roof" of Catholics) and , as a result, it resulted in a long religious showdown.

4. He bequeathed his house in Jamaica to three lawyers who vehemently hate each other, without the right to sell it. And after the death of the last of these lawyers, the house was to be sold and the funds distributed to the poor.

Well, the last paragraph of his will, thanks to which Millar received a place in history:
All the remaining (after partial distribution) of his property, he bequeathed to sell and divide among those women who will give birth to the largest number of children in Toronto in the next 10 years after his death.
With the Great Depression gaining momentum, this provoked an explosion in the birth rate and this period was called the Baby's Derby. 4 mothers with nine children each reached the finish line and received 125 thousand dollars each. Another mother with ten children, two of whom were stillborn, received a consolation prize of $12,500, and another with ten children, but not all of whom were born to her husband, also received a consolation prize of $12,500.

PS: All this time, Millar's distant relatives attacked the court demanding that his will be declared invalid on the basis of immorality, but they did not succeed.

On Sunday afternoon, October 31, 1926, Charles Millar did two sensational things.The first was that a slender, fit 73-year-old bachelor who had never been sick a day in his entire life suddenly collapsed to the floor in his office and died. The secretary was shocked. The second surprise was his will: it turned out to be so extraordinary, provocative, and its consequences so sensational that this legal document surpassed everything that Millar, a famous corporate lawyer, had done in a lifetime.

No one imagined that a respected Toronto lawyer and businessman would put on such a grand show after his death. It seems that Millar wanted to show that for a certain price you can buy everything and everyone. Having made a will according to all the rules of legal art, this respected gentleman set a precedent for the greatest posthumous, as journalists noted, "the joke of the century."

The funeral of Charles Millar brought together many prominent figures in the legal, business and sports circles, not only in Toronto, but throughout the province. The Reverend T. Cotton, a minister of the Anglican Church, spoke highly in his speech about the moral qualities, devotion and decency of the deceased. And that was the last time a church spokesman said anything good about Charles Millar.

After reading and publishing the will, something unimaginable began. Politicians, lawyers, businessmen, church ministers, and relatives of the deceased were shocked. As the reporters wrote: "Apparently, Millar's provocative testament is intended to entertain the 'high and powerful' members of society who impose their definition of morality on the general public."

At the beginning of the document, Millar wrote: “By necessity, this testament is unusual and whimsical. I have no heirs or close relatives, so there are no standard obligations to me about how to dispose of my property after death.”

At the beginning of the will, Millar listed several of his loyal assistants and collaborators and assigned small sums to them. He left nothing to distant relatives, explaining that if they hoped that he would leave them something, they would look forward to his imminent death, which he did not wish for himself.

• To each ordained clergyman in Sandwich, Walkerville, and Windsor, Ontario, Millar left one part of his stake in the Kenilvert Jockey Club, knowing full well their strong opposition to gambling.
• He ordered a share of the shares of the Catholic-owned O'Keeffe Beer Company to be given to every Protestant congregation in Toronto and to every parish priest who publicly fight against drunkenness without naming anyone. The result was stunning: a huge number of church ministers came to court, demanding their shares.
• For one judge and priest who were vehemently opposed to betting on horse races (here he named names), he offered tidbits of the Ontario Jockey Club on the condition that they join the club within three years. Which they did (however, having received their shares, they left the club).
• To three lawyer friends who were friends with Millar, but could not stand each other, the prankster Charles left a beautiful house in Jamaica with such casuistic notes that from now on they had to share the house, restraining themselves so as not to use their fists.

But all this was innocent pranks in comparison with the main 9th paragraph of this sensational testament. Charles Millar bequeathed the remainder of his wealth (more than half a million dollars) to the woman in Toronto who, within 10 years after his death, would give birth to the most legitimate children, which would be strictly recorded in the birth document.

So, the will was announced; moreover, it appeared on the front pages of the Toronto newspapers. The “big show” began, the heyday of which, we note, fell on the years of the Great Depression. Relatives tried to protest the will, teetotal clerics were eager to get their share of “beer shares”, lawyers of various courts were looking for ways to cash in on doing business. And even the Supreme Court of Canada (!) considered this will on behalf of the Supreme Court of Ontario, which wanted to achieve the transfer of the inheritance to the government of Ontario, ostensibly with the aim of establishing a scholarship fund at the University of Toronto.

But it was not for nothing that Millar was the best lawyer of his time for 45 years, and in terms of drafting wills, he was unsurpassed. He spelled out all the points so carefully (albeit in his usual playful way) that there was not the slightest reason to dispute them. For 10 years, the best lawyers in the country have been trying to do this - without success.

9 months after Millar's death, the "battle" for the main part of the inheritance began! It caused a lot of publications and discussions in all print media of that time. All mothers who gave birth to twins or triplets immediately became contenders, and their names did not leave the printed pages. The press published a daily column called “The Greatest Stork Race” (how much work the newsmen have to do!), which published lists of women and the number of their children born at the moment.

The church insultedly announced that Millar's will was immoral, as it called into question the sanctity of conception and birth, and delivered angry sermons against the lawyer.

The pastors exhorted the women not to take part in this “bad joke.” “But what does it mean not to take? women asked, “not to have children?”

When the Attorney General of Ontario filed a case to set up the aforementioned scholarship fund at the University of Toronto, Torontonians were furious. They insisted that Charles Millar was completely sane when he wrote his will, and that no politician would dare to encroach on the rights of women who wish to bear children. Protests erupted throughout the province. The feminists emphasized that the remaining clauses of the will had already been paid, and the first to receive money under this will were the clergy and lawyers!

So 10 years have passed. On the tenth anniversary of Charles Millar's death, the Ontario court again read the terms of the will and considered the list of contenders. Two women were eliminated from the "finalists". Pauline Clark had 9 children, but one was not by her husband. Lillian Kenny actually had 12 children, but five of them died in infancy, and she could not prove that they were not stillborn. Each of which they gave a consolation prize of $12,500.

On October 31, 1936, the “great stork race” ended in a draw between Anna-Catherine Smith, Kathleen-Elyn Nagl, Lucy-Alice Timlek and Isabelle-Mary McLean (all of whom had 9 children in 10 years). They received 125,000 (which in our time is about 1.5 million US dollars).

The “Great Stork Race” received more press coverage than Charles Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic and even the birth of five twins to Madame Dion. divorces.The following questions were also raised: what is meant by the word "Toronto", whether to count dead and illegitimate children, and most importantly, was paragraph 9 legal at all? But Millar foresaw everything.

Ironically, many participants in the "race" were not going to start large families at all. After all, we did not mention those who were left behind, having given birth to 7-8 children. Note that half of the "stork races" fell on the years of depression, when extra mouths were in families to anything. Two of the 4 winners had husbands without work at all, and their families were on welfare. Two other husbands worked, but received low wages. And Pauline Clark divorced and gave birth to her last child, no longer from her husband.

Fortunately, the prizes really helped the winners. All of them managed their money wisely, raised wonderful children, and did not stint on their education. And the television movie "The Great Stork Race" immortalized this amazing competition.

It was said that by provoking an explosion of uncontrolled births, the old bachelor hoped to embarrass the government and religious circles that were contemplating control policies. They also joked that the childless bachelor Charles Millar “adopted” 36 children in this way.

A little more about the greatest joker of the century, Charles Vance Millar

Char Les Vance Millar was born in 1853 to a poor farmer's family in Aylmer, Ontario. A bright schoolboy and later a successful student, he received many awards including a gold medal from the University of Toronto. His average mark in all subjects was 98! Equally impressive was his performance at Ozgood Hall Law School. This ambitious young man was admitted to the bar in 1881 and soon opened his own office in Toronto.

Millar started small, but rented a lawyer-style apartment - several furnished rooms in Toronto's "Royal" hotel. Over time, his name sounded among successful corporate lawyers, experts in the field of contract law.

Since the practice of law did not bring very high income at first, Millar bought the British Columbia Express Company with the right to transport government mail to the Caribou area. When construction began on the Grand Trunk railway company, he expanded the scope of his activities to include remote Fort George (later Prince George).

It is known that Millar wanted to buy land for the Indians at Fort George, but it was bought by the railroad. Millar sued, citing some procedural violations, and won the case: the court ordered the railroad to allocate 200 acres to the lawyer (in judicial practice this has since been called "Millar's allowance").

Possessing a sharp business acumen, Millar profitably bought tenement houses, and, on shares with the Chief Justice of Ontario, acquired a steamship; in addition, he became the president and owner of a controlling stake in the O'Keeffe beer company (beer of this brand is still sold).

His hobbies were horses and racing. Millar was lucky: he had a reputation as a successful player, and two of his horses took first prizes at prestigious races. By the end of his life, there were 7 magnificent running stallions in his stable.

This lucky man had another hobby: he liked to joke and play tricks on his friends. Especially caustic jokes were subjected to people prone to stupid greed.

Millar's friends and colleagues remembered him as a loving and devoted son. After the death of his father, Millar left the "Royal" hotel, where he lived for 23 years, and bought a large house for himself and his widowed mother. Beloved mother sometimes scolded her son that he worked so hard and did not find time to marry. However, one can only guess why he never married. She was also worried that her son slept on the cold veranda at any time of the year. However, there was no reason for fear: Charles never caught a cold. And it seemed that he would live a century.

Charles Vance Millar (1821-1926) - Canadian lawyer, without direct heirs, who became famous after his death, thanks to his will.

When they came to Millar's lawyer to get acquainted with the last will of the deceased, he replied: “Forgive me, gentlemen, this is not a will, but some kind of joke. I need to figure it out." The joke turned out to be a reality and became an attraction of human greed for the next 12 years, in which Millar's lawyer had to defend his last will.

1. He divided the shares of the elite Ontario Jockey Club among three people, two of whom were ardent supporters of the closure of horse racing and any sweepstakes in general. They had to temporarily join this club in order to sell their shares. And the third, a rare swindler and gambler who otherwise would never have been a member of this club, got his membership.

2. He distributed one share of the Kenilworth Jockey Club among the practicing priests of the three neighboring towns. The joke was that the club was completely bankrupt. Everyone who owned his shares tried to get rid of them and their value at that time was only half a cent.

3. He also bequeathed one share of the O "Keefe brewery to each practicing Protestant priest in Toronto and most of the priests accepted them. Although, as it turned out later, in fact, he did not own these shares (and even the plant was under the "roof" of Catholics) and , as a result, it resulted in a long religious showdown.

4. He bequeathed his house in Jamaica to three lawyers who vehemently hate each other, without the right to sell it. And after the death of the last of these lawyers, the house was to be sold and the funds distributed to the poor.

Well, the last paragraph of his will, thanks to which Millar received a place in history:

All the remaining (after partial distribution) of his property, he bequeathed to sell and divide among those women who will give birth to the largest number of children in Toronto in the next 10 years after his death. With the Great Depression gaining momentum, this provoked an explosion in the birth rate and this period was called the Baby's Derby. 4 mothers with nine children each reached the finish line and received 125 thousand dollars each. Another mother with ten children, two of whom were stillborn, received a consolation prize of $12,500, and another with ten children, but not all of whom were born to her husband, also received a consolation prize of $12,500.

P.S. All this time, distant relatives of Millar attacked the court demanding that his will be declared invalid on the basis of immorality, but did not succeed.