William Molson, youngest son of prominent Montréal brewer John Molson, played an influential role in expanding his family’s commercial empire, which came to include a distillery, a lumberyard, a foundry, steamships, and railways by the mid-19th century. In 1853, William and his brother John founded Molsons Bank, where William served as president until his death. Its headquarters were located here. William Molson was also a leading philanthropist, serving as president of the Montreal General Hospital and donating funds towards the establishment and construction of McGill University, where he later became a governor.