Edward S. Rogers Jr.
A relentlessly driven Canadian entrepreneur who built a cable and wireless empire from a single FM radio station.
1933–2008 (age 75)·Canadian businessman and philanthropist·Birthday: May 27·The Silent Generation
Biography
Ted Rogers was possessed by a vision of a connected Canada, a drive inherited from his father, a radio pioneer who died when Ted was five. He leveraged his law degree and relentless work ethic to resurrect the family business, acquiring a Toronto FM station in 1960. Seeing the future in cable television, he fought regulatory battles and took enormous financial risks to wire Toronto neighborhoods. His company, Rogers Communications, grew through audacious debt-fueled acquisitions, swallowing long-distance phone providers and cellular spectrum. He was a combative and demanding leader, often working from dawn until midnight, who transformed a small broadcast license into a national colossus of media, wireless, and cable. His legacy is a ubiquitous part of Canadian daily life, a testament to his stubborn belief in the power of communication technology.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Edward was born in 1933, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Edward Was Born
The biggest hits of 1933
#1 Movie
King Kong
Best Picture
Cavalcade
Edward's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1933Born
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1938Started school
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1946Became a teenager
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1949Could drive
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1951Could vote
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1954Turned 21
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1963Turned 30
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1973Turned 40
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1983Turned 50
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1993Turned 60
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 70
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2008Died at 75
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Key Achievements
- Founded Rogers Communications, one of Canada's largest providers of wireless, cable, and media services.
- Pioneered cable television in Canada by winning the license to wire Toronto in the late 1960s.
- Acquired the Canadian rights to cellular telephone service in the 1980s, building what became Rogers Wireless.
- Purchased the Toronto Blue Jays baseball franchise and their stadium, SkyDome (now Rogers Centre), in 2000.
Did You Know?
His first business venture as a teenager was selling magazines door-to-door.
He held a law degree from Osgoode Hall and initially practiced as a barrister and solicitor.
Rogers was a lifelong fan of amateur radio, holding the call sign VE3BRO.
He wrote a memoir titled 'Relentless: The True Story of the Man Behind Rogers Communications.'
“The world belongs to the discontented.”
