Browse "History/Historical Figures"

Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry, British army and Canadian militia officer, military figure in the WAR OF 1812 (b at Beauport, Qué 19 Nov 1778; d at Chambly, Lower Canada 27 Feb 1829). At age 14, de Salaberry enlisted as a volunteer in the 44th Foot.

Charles Oakes Ermatinger, fur trader, merchant, militia officer and Justice of the Peace (born 1 February 1776 in Montreal, Quebec; died 4 September 1833 in Montreal). Ermatinger played an important role in the economic and social life of the frontier region of Sault Ste. Marie and what was then known as the Upper Country.

Charles Stanley Monck, 4th Viscount Monck of Ballytrammon, governor general of British North America, captain general and governor of British North America from 1861 to 1867 and governor general of Canada from 1867 to 1868 (born 10 October 1819 in Templemore, County Tipperary, Ireland; died 29 November 1894 in Charleville, Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland). Monck supported Confederation and became the first governor general of the Dominion of Canada.

Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, first Baron, governor general of British North America 1843-45 (b at Calcutta, India 30 Jan 1785; d at Malshanger, Hampshire, Eng 5 Sept 1846).

Chanie “Charlie” Wenjack (born 19 January 1954; died 23 October 1966 near Redditt, ON). Chanie Wenjack, an Anishinaabe boy from Ontario, ran away from his residential school near Kenora at age 12, and subsequently died from hunger and exposure to the harsh weather. His death in 1966 sparked national attention and the first inquest into the treatment of Indigenous children in Canadian residential schools.

French Canadian variant of the Wild Hunt, a legend which interprets strange noises in the air as relating to a hunter condemned to hunt throughout eternity. In Chasse-Galerie, one or several persons together are able, with the help of the devil, to travel in a canoe through the air at tremendous speed.

On 24 February 2010, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown, officially apologized for a program that the British government put in place in the 19th century to send large numbers of children as emigrants to various British colonies, including Canada. Media reports of this apology took many people in Britain and Canada by surprise. They had no idea that such an event had taken place in their two countries’ histories.

Among the approximately 2,000 victims who died in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, one-quarter were children under the age of 18. Many other young people survived but would carry physical and emotional scars with them for the remainder of their lives. Dead and wounded children were the most poignant victims of the disaster.

Chloe Cooley was one of hundreds of Black women enslaved in the French and British colonies that became Canada. Although little is known about Chloe Cooley, who was enslaved in Upper Canada, her struggles against her enslaver, Sergeant Adam Vrooman, precipitated the Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada of 1793. The Act was the first legislation in the British colonies to restrict the slave trade. (See also Black Enslavement in Canada.) Click here for definitions of key terms used in this article.

Christopher Middleton, Hudson's Bay Co captain, naval officer, explorer (b at Newton Bewley, Eng late 17th century; d 12 Feb 1770). Middleton served on PRIVATEERING ships during Queen Anne's War 1701-13 and joined the HBC in 1721 as second mate on a voyage from England to York Factory.

The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.

Martin finally achieved her goal on 2 February 1897, becoming the first woman lawyer in the British Empire. She went on to earn Bachelor of Civil Law (1897) and LLB (1899) degrees and to establish a successful Toronto practice.

The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated. "This application to the Law Society of Upper Canada is refused. The governing statute regulating this body, not having been drafted under the advanced views of the day and specifically referring to the admission of persons, does not permit the interpretation of 'persons' to include women. This was the spirit of the reply to Clara Brett Martin's application to study law in 1891.

Claude Chauchetière, Jesuit missionary, painter (b at St-Porchaire-de-Poitiers, France 7 Sept 1645; d at Québec City 17 Apr 1709).

Claude de Boutroue d'Aubigny, chevalier, INTENDANT of New France 1668-70 (b at Paris, France 1620; d in France 1680). A Parisian judge and member of the noblesse de robe, Boutroue served as intendant of Canada between Jean TALON's first and second terms.