'''George Munro''' was born on November 12, [[1825]] in West River, [[Pictou County, Nova Scotia|Pictou County]], [[Nova Scotia]]. After basic schooling he became an apprentice at the age of 12 with a local newspaper known as The Observer. After two years he continued his education attending the [[New Glasgow School]] ([[1839]] - [[1842]]). After this he taught for a year to raise enough money to attend [[Pictou Academy]].
Around [[1850]], Munro moved to [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] and taught [[natural philosophy]] and [[mathematics]] at the [[Free Church Academy]]. He eventually became the school's principal before leaving for [[New York City]] in [[1856]]. Five years later in [[1861]], he joined the publishing firm [[Irwin P. Beadle and Company]]. In [[1863]] the firm broke up and Munro entered in a partnership with [[Irwin Beadle|Beadle]] and ended up owning the company a year later.
Munro became rich from his publishing company and in [[1879]] began donating to [[Dalhousie University]] under the influence of his brother-in-law, a member of the university's Board of Governors. At the time Dalhousie's total income was only $6,600, and the university was in danger of shutting down. In all Munro gave approximately $333,000 to the university (about $8 million in today's funds) which included endowed professorships and bursaries.
To commemorate his generosity, a university [[holiday]], [[Munro Day]], is celebrated each year on the first [[Friday]] of [[February]].
[[Category:Dalhousie_University]]
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