born september 1, 1791, son of john molson (1763–1836) and sarah insley vaughan, at montreal, quebec. thomas molson was educated in private schools and apprenticed to the brewery trade. on becoming a partner in john molson & sons in 1816, he took over the management of the family's brewery operations. after an unprofitable venture into distilling in 1822, he withdrew from the partnership and settled in kingston, upper canada, where he engaged in extensive brewing and distilling operations from 1824 to 1835. in 1836 he returned to montreal to resume management of the family business. under the firm-name of thomas & william molson it became one of the leading distilleries in north america. when william molson retired in 1852 to establish molson bank, thomas acquired sole ownership of the distilling interests and his son, john henry robinson molson, became owner of the brewery. thomas molson was a benefactor of mcgill university and the montreal general hospital. he also built a private church, st. thomas, and a theological college.