Hockey player Tim Horton died this day in 1974 in a car crash, he was the founder of the Canadian chain "Tim Hortons".

Miles Gilbert "Tim" Horton (January 12, 1930 – February 21, 1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in 24 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Buffalo Sabres. He was also a businessman and a co-founder of fast food chain Tim Hortons. He died in an automobile crash in St. Catharines, Ontario, in 1974 at the age of 44.

In 1964, Horton opened his first Tim Horton Doughnut Shop in Hamilton, Ontario on Ottawa Street.[6] He even added a few of his culinary creations to the initial menu. By 1967, Horton had become a multi-million dollar franchise system. Horton's previous business ventures included both a hamburger restaurant and Studebaker auto dealership in Toronto.

Upon Horton's death in 1974, his business partner, Ron Joyce, bought out the Horton family's shares for $1 million and took over as sole owner of the existing chain of 40 stores.

Today, in addition to over 3,000 locations in Canada, there are over 556 Tim Hortons Doughnut Shops in the United States, and they can be found in Michigan, Ohio, New York,Maine, Pennsylvania, and other American states, mainly in the Northeast and the Great Lakes region. There was also a Tim Hortons on the Kandahar Canadian Military base in Afghanistan until late 2011. There are also a number of Tim Hortons in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In November 2011, Tim Horton's opened up a new location in Abu Dhabi at Mushrif Mall.

Ron Joyce's son married Horton's daughter, returning the Horton family to the company.