James Armstrong Richardson was born in Kingston, Ontario in 1885 to Agnes (McCausland) and George A.

Richardson's greatest contributions came as a pioneer of Canadian commercial aviation; he founded Western Canada Airways in 1926 and helped open up the mineral mining development of the North with his air transport routes.

Richardson was the 6th Chancellor of Queen's University, elected in 1929 and he served in this post until his death from a heart attack in 1939.

His daughter, Agnes Benidickson, would later become the first female chancellor of Queen's, and his son James Armstrong Richardson, would become a Cabinet minister in the government of Pierre Trudeau.

[4] Today, Richardson & Sons, Limited is a family-owned company that has expanded and developed into an international, multi-enterprise corporation.