John Whitney Pickersgill, (June 23, 1905 – November 14, 1997) was a Canadian civil servant and politician. He was born in Ontario, but was raised in Manitoba. He was the Clerk for the Canadian Government's Privy Council in the early 1950s. He was first elected to federal parliament in 1953, representing a Newfoundland electoral district and serving in Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent's cabinet. In the mid-1960s, he served again in cabinet, this time under Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. Pickersgill resigned from Parliament in 1967 to become the president of the Canadian Transport Commission. He was awarded the highest level of the Order of Canada in 1970. He wrote several books on Canadian history. He died in 1997 in Ottawa. Early years Pickersgill was born in Wyecombe, Ontario, on June 23, 1905, the son of Frank Allan Pickersgill (1877-) and Sarah Smith (1878-). His parents were born in Ontario. When he was a young child, the family moved to Ashern, Manitoba, where his father was a farmer. John was the older brother of Thomas, Walter, Bessie, and Frank Pickersgill, all of whom were born in Manitoba. He was educated at the University of Manitoba and at the University of Oxford, and he taught history in Winnipeg. On July 3, 1936, at Emmanuel College Chapel, Toronto, J.W. Pickersgill married Beatrice Landon Young (1913-1938). A graduate of the University of Manitoba, Beatrice was born in Winnipeg, the daughter of Dr. Fred Armstrong Young (1875-1964), MD, and Landon (Wright) Young (1878-1931). The marriage ceremony was attended only by immediate family members. A gravestone in Old Kildonan Cemetery in Winnipeg memorializes the 1938 death of Beatrice, "wife of John W. Pickersgill." Senior civil servant He joined the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa and soon worked at the Prime Minister's Office as Assistant Private Secretary to Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. In 1945, he became Special Assistant to the Prime Minister and was officially in charge of the Prime Minister's Office. He stayed on to work for King's successor, Louis St. Laurent, and became Clerk of the Privy Council in 1952. Pickersgill was a senior and trusted adviser to both Prime Ministers: "Clear it with Jack" was the byword on Parliament Hill for years. MP and Cabinet Minister Pickersgill entered the House of Commons of Canada as Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Bonavista-Twillingate, Newfoundland, after the 1953 election. Pickersgill had become