Sir Max Aitken, 2nd Baronet Beaverbrook in my lifetime". On his death in 1985, his son, also Max Aitken, took on the title. Sir Max Aitken, 2nd Baronet Sir John William Maxwell Aitken, 2nd Baronet, (15 February 1910 – 30 April 1985), briefly 2nd Baron Beaverbrook in 1964, was a British fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War, a Conservative politician, and press baron. He was the son of Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook. Aitken was born in Montreal on 15 February 1910 to Max Aitken (later Lord Beaverbrook). He was educated at Westminster School and Pembroke College, Cambridge. A talented sportsman,
Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook and the firm's general manager. Under the tutelage of Stairs, who would be his mentor and friend, Aitken engineered a number of successful business deals and was planning a series of bank mergers. Stairs' unexpected early death in September 1904 led to Aitken acquiring control of the company and moving to Montreal, then the business capital of Canada. There he bought and sold companies, invested in stocks and shares and also developed business interests in both Cuba and Puerto Rico. He started a weekly magazine, the "Canadian Century" in 1910, invested in the "Montreal Herald" and almost acquired the "Montreal