Article

Robert Ferguson Legget

Published Online January 10, 2008

Last Edited March 7, 2014

Robert Ferguson Legget, civil engineer (b at Liverpool, Eng 29 Sept 1904; died at Ottawa, Ont 17 Apr 1994).

Legget, Robert Ferguson

Robert Ferguson Legget, civil engineer (b at Liverpool, Eng 29 Sept 1904; died at Ottawa, Ont 17 Apr 1994). After working in the Canadian construction industry, Legget taught at Queen's and U of T until 1947, when he joined the NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL to establish and serve as director of its new Division of Building Research, a position he held until retirement in 1969. He is known internationally for contributions to engineering, geology and building research and standardization. He helped establish co-operation among geotechnical engineers, geologists and pedologists in Canada, and his achievements have been recognized by 13 honorary degrees and many fellowships.

Legget has written or edited more than 12 well-known books, including Canals of Canada (1975), Glacial Till (1976), Handbook of Geology in Civil Engineering with P.F. Karrow (1983) and many papers on soil mechanics. Leggett was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1967 and promoted within the Order to Companion in 1989.