Browse "Nature & Geography"

Arthur Oliver Wheeler, surveyor, mountaineer (born at Lyrath, Ireland 1 May 1860; died at Banff, Alta 20 March 1945). Qualifying in 1881 as Ontario land surveyor, he also obtained Dominion (1882), Manitoba (1882), British Columbia (1891) and Alberta (1911) credentials.

From his early research which focussed on developing an oilseed crop for Manitoba, he became an internationally acclaimed plant breeder, best known for suggesting the elimination of erucic from rapeseed oil and producing low glucosinolate varieties.

Bernard Voyer, explorer and lecturer (born 7 March 1953 in Rimouski, Québec) is a born adventurer.

Bjarni Herjolfsson, Norse explorer (dates of birth and death unknown; lived in the 10th century). Herjolfsson was likely the first European to sight the east coast of North America. While sailing from Iceland to Greenland in 986 CE, Herjolfsson sighted lands that were later determined to be Baffin Island, Labrador and Newfoundland. Although Herjolfsson never set foot in North America, Leif Ericsson later retraced his voyage, establishing a settlement at what he called Vinland.

Fredrick Bodsworth, nature writer (born at Port Burwell, Ont 11 Oct 1918, died 15 Sep 2012).

Catharine Parr Traill, née Strickland, pioneer writer, botanist (born 9 January 1802 in London, England; died 29 August 1899 in Lakefield, ON). Catharine Parr Traill’s books are some of the earliest in the Canadian literary canon. Works such as The Backwoods of Canada: Being Letters from the Wife of an Emigrant Officer (1836) offer detailed descriptions of pioneer life in Canada, while Canadian Wildflowers (1868) and Studies of Plant Life in Canada (1885) showcase her skill as an amateur botanist.

Charles Albanel, Jesuit priest, missionary and explorer (b in Auvergne, France c 1616; d at Sault Ste Marie 11 Jan 1696).

Charles-Eusèbe Dionne, ornithologist (b at St-Denis de Kamouraska, Qué 11 July 1845; d at Québec City 25 Jan 1925). The model of the self-taught man, Dionne was one of the most respected naturalists of French Canada.

Charles Francis Hall, Arctic explorer (b in Vermont 1821; d in Greenland 8 Nov 1871). An engraver by trade, Hall was fascinated by accounts of the search for Sir John FRANKLIN and in 1860, as a private citizen, he went by whaling ship to Baffin I.

Charles Gibb, horticulturist (b at Montréal 29 July 1845; d at Cairo, Egypt 8 Mar 1890). Poor health led Gibb to seek an outdoor occupation and in 1872 he established extensive orchards at Abbotsford, Qué, to study fruit culture and arboriculture, and to test plant material from abroad.

Charles Gordon Hewitt, administrator, economic entomologist, conservationist (born 23 February 1885 in Macclesfield, England; died 29 February 1920 in Ottawa, ON). Charles Gordon Hewitt was an expert on houseflies who served as Canada’s Dominion entomologist from 1909 until his death. He played an important role in expanding the government’s entomology branch, as well as in passing the Destructive Insect and Pest Act (1910).

Charles George Horetzky, photographer, explorer, civil servant (b at Edinburgh, Scot 20 June 1838; d at Toronto 30 Apr 1900). An employee of the Hudson's Bay Co, he was at Fort Garry in 1869 during the RED RIVER REBELLION.

Charles Lavelle Broley, banker, ornithologist (b at Gorrie, Ont 7 Dec 1879; d at Delta, Ont 4 May 1959). A banker in Winnipeg, he was also active in ornithology and conservation. In 1939 he "retired" to winters in Florida and summers in Ontario.

Charles W. Peterson, agrarian editor, printer, NWT civil servant, farmer, businessman (b at Copenhagen, Den 28 June 1868; d at Calgary, 4 Feb 1944).

Daniel McCowan, naturalist, lecturer, writer (b at Crieff, Scot 20 Jan 1882; d at Cloverdale, BC 19 Feb 1956). After an early education in Scotland, he moved to Banff, Alta, where he soon acquired expertise on the local flora and fauna.