Browse "History/Historical Figures"

Andrew Hamilton Gault, army officer (born in England 18 August 1882; died at Montréal 28 November 1958). Of Canadian parents, he attended McGill University. Commissioned in the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles, he served in the South African War and joined the Canadian Militia on return to Canada.

Born in the backwoods of the Carolinas, Jackson was the son of Scottish Irish colonists. At the young age of 13, Jackson served in a local militia as a courier during the American Revolution. It was a dangerous job.

Andrew Charles Mynarski, Royal Canadian Air Force pilot officer, Victoria Cross recipient (born 14 October 1916 in Winnipeg, MB; died 13 June 1944 in Cambrai, France). Mynarksi served as a gunner on bomber aircraft during the Second World War. While on a mission on 12 June 1944, his plane was attacked and on fire when, rather than jumping to safety, he ran through flames to try to rescue his fellow crewmember who was trapped in the rear gun turret. Unable to extricate his friend, Mynarski parachuted safely to the ground but later died due to severe burns. His bravery earned him many posthumous commendations, including the Victoria Cross.

Andrew Onderdonk, contractor (b at New York City c 1849; d at Oscawana, NY 21 June 1905).

Ange Duquesne de Menneville Duquesne, Marquis, naval officer, governor general of New France 1752-55 (b at Toulon, France c 1700; d at Antony, France 17 Sept 1778). He joined the navy as a boy and saw action in the War of the Austrian Succession.

Angus McAskill, the Cape Breton giant (b at Harris, Scot 1825; d at Englishtown, NS 8 Aug 1863). The tallest nonpathological giant on record, at maturity he was 236 cm (7´9´) tall, weighed 193 kg (425 lbs) and had a shoulder width of 112 cm and palms measuring 20 cm by 30 cm.

Anna Haining Swan, giantess (b at Mill Brook, NS 7 Aug 1846; d at Seville, Ohio 5 Aug 1888). In 1862 she joined P.T. Barnum's American Museum in New York, attracted by the monthly salary of $1000 and by the opportunity to further

Anna Harriette Edwards Leonowens (born 6 November 1831 in Ahmadnagar, India; died 19 January 1915 in Montreal, Quebec). Anna Leonowens was an educator, author and lecturer who became famous as the British governess to the wives and children of King Mongkut (Rama IV) of Siam (now Thailand) in the 1860s. After leaving Siam, she emigrated to Canada, where she advocated for women’s suffrage, taught at McGill University and helped found what is now the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. She was the inspiration for Margaret Landon’s historical novel, Anna and the King of Siam (1944), and the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I (1951).

Anne Brown, née Nelson, wife, mother (born 1827 in Edinburgh, Scotland; died 6 May 1906 in Edinburgh).

Antoine-Denis Raudot, intendant of New France, 1705-10 (b 1679; d at Versailles, France 28 July 1737). He had begun a career in the ministry of marine when he and his father Jacques Raudot were jointly appointed intendant.

Antoine Laumet, known as “de Lamothe Cadillac,” explorer, seigneur in Acadia, commandant of Fort Michilimackinac, founder of Detroit and of the first colony in Ontario, governor of Louisiana (born 5 March 1658 at Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave, France; died 16 October 1730 at Castelsarrasin, France).

Archibald Acheson Gosford, 2nd Earl of, colonial administrator (b in Ire 1 Aug 1776; d at Markethill, Ire 27 Mar 1849). Scion of a prominent Anglo-Irish family, he was an outspoken opponent of the Orange Order and strongly supported a policy of conciliation in Ireland.

Archibald McNab, 17th chief of Clan Macnab (b in Perthshire, Scot c 1781; d at Lannion, France 12 Aug 1860). McNab came to Upper Canada in 1822 to flee his creditors in Scotland. His settlement scheme was approved Nov 1823 and he was given land on the Madawaska River.

Archibald Roy Megarry, publisher (b at Belfast, N Ire 10 Feb 1937). Megarry was publisher and chief executive officer of the Toronto Globe and Mail from 1978 to 1992 and was responsible for establishing its national edition.

The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated. Canadian painting in the 19th century tended towards the pastoral. It depicted idyllic scenes of rural life and represented the country as a wondrous Eden. Canadian painter Homer Watson, under the influence of such American masters as Frederic Edwin Church and Albert Bierstadt, created images that are serene and suffused with golden light. In On the Mohawk River (1878), for instance, a lazy river ambles between tall, overhanging trees; in the background is a light-struck mountain. In Watson’s world, nature is peaceful, unthreatening and perhaps even sacred.