Browse "Science & Technology"

Charles Sherwood Noble, agriculturist, industrialist (b at State Centre, Iowa 16 May 1873; d at Lethbridge, Alta 5 July 1957). He developed the Noble Blade, a cultivator that gave dryland farmers everywhere their first sure method of protecting soil from wind erosion.

Charles Smallwood, physician, professor of meteorology, founder of the McGill Observatory (b at Birmingham, Eng 1812; d at Montréal 22 Dec 1873). Arriving in Montréal in 1833, he later set up medical practice in St-Martin.

Dr. Charles Victor Roman, surgeon, professor, author, editor, philosopher, civil rights activist (born 4 July 1864 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania; died 25 August 1934 in Nashville, Tennessee). Charles Roman was raised in Dundas, Ontario, and was the first Black person to graduate from Hamilton Collegiate Institute in Hamilton, ON. After a tragic accident in his teenage years, he went on to establish himself as an internationally respected surgeon and educator; he also wrote and edited several books and periodicals and was frequently called upon as a keynote speaker. Roman used the Canada–US border as a gateway to opportunity both north and south of the line. He is an example of a true "African North American," one of many individuals of African descent who crossed and recrossed the border separating the two countries between 1850 and 1930.

Charlotte Edith Anderson Monture (often known simply as Edith Monture), Mohawk First World War veteran, registered nurse, (born 10 April 1890 on Six Nations reserve near Brantford, ON; died 3 April 1996 in Ohsweken, ON). Edith was the first Indigenous woman to become a registered nurse in Canada and to gain the right to vote in a Canadian federal election. She was also the first Indigenous woman from Canada to serve in the United States military. Edith broke barriers for Indigenous women in the armed forces and with regards to federal voting rights. A street (Edith Monture Avenue) and park (Edith Monture Park) are named after her in Brantford, Ontario.

Chris Austin Hadfield, OC, OOnt, astronaut, military test pilot (born 29 August 1959 in Sarnia, ON). After a distinguished career as a test pilot, Hadfield became an astronaut in 1992. Over the course of his career, he achieved a series of Canadian firsts: he was the first Canadian to be a space mission specialist, to operate the Canadarm in orbit, to do a spacewalk and to command the International Space Station. He was also the first to record a music video in space — a cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” — adding to his celebrity status. Hadfield retired from the Canadian Astronaut Corps in July 2013. In 2014, he began teaching in the University of Waterloo’s aviation program.

The view from a million feet away, his love for two frozen nations—and his fear of heightsThis article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on October 14, 2013

Christopher John Raymond Garrett, physical oceanographer (b at Bude, Eng 30 July 1943). Educated at Cambridge, he joined the department of oceanography at Dalhousie University in 1971. Known for his early work with W.H.

Christopher Widmer, surgeon, medical educator, medical administrator (b at High Wycombe, Eng 15 May 1780, d at Toronto 3 May 1858). Widmer was a dominant figure in Upper Canadian medicine from the 1820s almost until his death.

Clara Cynthia Benson, professor of chemistry (born in 1875 in Port Hope, ON; died 24 March 1964 in Port Hope). In 1899, Benson became the first woman to graduate in chemistry from the University of Toronto. In 1903, she became one of the first two women awarded a PhD at U of T. After graduating with her doctorate, she worked at U of T’s Lillian Massey School of Domestic Science, becoming one of the university’s first female professors in 1920. A capable teacher who stimulated research and was a friend to her students, Benson taught at the school until her retirement in 1945. The Benson Building at U of T was named in recognition of her efforts to obtain better athletic facilities for women students.

Clarence Augustus Chant, professor of astrophysics (b at Hagerman's Corners, Ont 31 May 1865; d at Observatory House, Richmond Hill, Ont 18 Nov 1956). He is often called the "father of Canadian astronomy" because he trained so many young astronomers.

Clarence Meredith Hincks, physician, mental-health reformer (b at St Marys, Ont 8 Apr 1885; d at Toronto 17 Dec 1964). He received his MD from the University of Toronto in 1907 and, finding general practice unsuitable, obtained a part-time post as medical inspector for Toronto schools.

Frank Clarke Fraser, OC, FRSC, physician, medical geneticist (born 29 March 1920 in Norwich, Connecticut; died 17 December 2014 in Digby, Nova Scotia).

Claude Baillif dit Regnault, masonry builder, architect (b c1635; d at sea, early 1699). The Séminaire de Québec hired Baillif as a stonecutter at La Rochelle, France, in May 1675.

Clayton Oscar Person, scientist, educator (b at Regina, Sask 16 May 1922; d at Vancouver, BC 1 Sept 1990). Educated at Saskatoon, Alberta and overseas, Person worked at U Man, U of A and UBC. He is recognized internationally as an authority on the genetics of host-parasite relations.

Clifford Donald Wiens, architect, designer, teacher (born 27 April 1926 in Glenn Kerr, SK; died 25 January 2020 in Vancouver, BC). Clifford Wiens’s distinguished body of work reflects both corporate modern architecture and a broader expressionist movement. Wiens was known for his superb and inventive architectural and structural details, as well as for his simple but strong forms. His distinctive approach to structure and form was shaped by his relationship with the abstract painters in the Regina Five and his background in industrial design. Wiens won two Massey Awards and the Prix du XXe siècle from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Following his death in 2020, the Globe and Mail called him Saskatchewan’s “leading architect of the postwar era.”