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385 plaques found that match your criteria
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Harry G.B. Miner, V.C. 1891-1918
Born in Raleigh Township, Miner enlisted in the 142nd Battalion, C.E.F. in December, 1915, and the following year transferred to the 58th Battalion, then serving in France. During a Canadian attack near Amiens on August 8, 1918, Corporal Miner rushed a German machine gun post single-handed and turned the gun on the enemy. Later, with two companions, he assaulted another post and put its gun out of action, following which he again attacked alone and... -
Thomas Curtis Clarke 1827-1901
The world of today differs from that of Napoleon Bonaparte more than his world differed from that of Julius Caesar; and this change has chiefly been made by engineering." These were the words of civil engineer Thomas Clarke, a New Englander who came to Port Hope in 1853 to work for the local railway. He married and raised a family here and, in the 1860s, was a partner in a Port Hope firm that constructed... -
Hewitt Bernard 1825-1893
Born in Jamaica, Bernard immigrated to Upper Canada in 1851 and settled in Barrie, where in 1856 he established a law practice. He was chief clerk, 1858-66, in the office of the attorney general for Canada West, John, A. Macdonald, and later became his brother-in-law. Bernard accompanied Macdonald to the Charlottetown Conference (1864), and was the secretary of the Quebec (1864) and London (1866-67) Conferences, at which the groundwork was laid for Confederation. A lieutenant-colonel... -
Franklin Carmichael 1890-1945
An outstanding Canadian artist, Carmichael was born at Orillia, and studied at the Ontario College of Art and L'Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts at Antwerp. He had worked with Lismer and Varley in commercial art, and upon returning to Toronto in 1914, shared a studio with Tom Thomson. One of the founders of the "Group of Seven" and its youngest member, Carmichael participated in all the Group's exhibitions. His graphic style and sense of design led... -
Honourable William Earl Rowe 1894-1984, The
A veteran parliamentarian who subsequently served as Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, Rowe was born in Hull, Iowa and raised in Simcoe County. He early exhibited an interest in politics and in 1923 was elected to the provincial legislature as the Conservative member for Simcoe South. Two years later Rowe contested and won the federal seat for Dufferin-Simcoe, embarking upon a career in the House of Commons which, with the exception of one interruption during the late... -
Henry Wolsey Bayfield 1795-1885
Born in England, Bayfield joined the Royal Navy at the age of eleven and served in many parts of the world. While stationed at Kingston, Upper Canada in 1817, he was put in charge of the Great Lakes survey. Over the next eight years, he charted the coastal waters of lakes Erie, Huron and Superior. For much of this period Penetanguishene was his base of operations. Later, Bayfield surveyed the shorelines of the lower St... -
Honourable Ernest Charles Drury, The
A descendant of one of this area's pioneer families, Drury was born on this farm in 1878. His father, the Hon. Charles Drury, had served (1888-1890) as Ontario's first minister of agriculture. A graduate of the Ontario Agricultural College, E.C. Drury was appointed secretary of the Canadian Council of Agriculture in 1909, and became first president of the United Farmers of Ontario in 1914. The U.F.O. formed a political party in 1918, and with support... -
Franz Johnston 1888-1949
This was the home and studio, 1940-48, of the noted Canadian painter Francis Hans (Franz) Johnston. Born in Toronto, he studied there and in the United States, and at first worked as a commercial artist. An official war artist, 1917-18, he participated in the first exhibition of the Group of Seven in 1920. With others of the Group, he captured on canvas the lonely grandeur of the Canadian northland, thus ending Canadian dependence upon Europe... -
George Richardson, V.C. c.1831-1923
Private Richardson won the Victoria Cross while fighting with the Border Regiment of the British Army in northern India during the Indian Mutiny of 1857-59. As part of a detachment sent to dislodge rebels in the hills of the Kewarie Trans-Gogra district on April 27, 1859, he displayed determined courage in having, though severely wounded, closed with and secured a rebel Sepoy [Indian soldier] armed with a broad revolver. An Irishman by birth, Richardson came... -
Honourable René-Amable Boucher 1735-1812, The
Boucher was born at Fort Frontenac (Kingston) where his father, an officer with the French colonial regular troops, was stationed. René-Amable also chose a military career and served in the Seven Years War with the French defenders of Canada. During the American Revolution, he was captain of a volunteer company of French Canadian militia and fought with the British under General John Burgoyne. In Quebec, and later in Lower Canada, Boucher sat on the legislative... -
Molly Brant
Born about 1736, Molly Brant (Degonwadonti) was a member of a prominent Mohawk family. About 1759, she became the wife of Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Province of New York and a powerful figure in that colony. Well-educated and a persuasive speaker, Molly Brant wielded great influence among the Iroquois and was responsible for much of Johnson's success in dealing with them. Following the outbreak of the American Revolution she and... -
Samuel Thomas Greene 1844-1890
Samuel Greene was the first deaf teacher to teach deaf children in the Ontario school system. An American by birth, he was educated at the National Deaf-Mute College, now Gallaudet University, in Washington, D.C. After graduating in 1870, he came to teach at the new provincial school for the deaf in Belleville (later Sir James Whitney School). Believing that the education of deaf children should be based on solid language skills, Greene devised a progressive... -
John Weir Foote, V.C. 1904-1988
The only chaplain in World War II to receive the Victoria Cross, Foote was born and raised in Madoc. He entered the Presbyterian ministry in 1934 and enlisted in the Canadian Chaplain Service five years later. Assigned to the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, Foote distinguished himself during the ill-fated Dieppe Raid on August 19, 1942. Acting with utter disregard for his personal safety, he ministered to the wounded and carried injured personnel from exposed positions... -
Captain George Fraser Kerr, V.C., M.C., M.M. 1895-1929
Born at Deseronto, Kerr attended schools here and in Toronto. With the outbreak of the First World War he enlisted on September 22, 1914 with the 3rd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, and arrived in France the following February. He won the Military Medal at Mount Sorrel on June 13, 1916, the Military Cross at Amiens on August 18, 1918, and a Bar to the latter award at Queant later that summer. The Victoria Cross, the... -
Malcolm Cameron 1808-1876
A prominent Upper Canadian entrepreneur and politician, Cameron was born in Trois-Rivieres. He began his business career in Perth, establishing himself as a general merchant and in 1834 co-founding the Bathurst Courier. In 1837 he moved to Port Sarnia where he developed lumbering, shipping and milling enterprises. Although a successful businessman, Cameron gained renown in politics. He was elected to the legislature as the member for Lanark in 1836 and, representing this, then several western... -
Hazelton Spencer 1757-1813
An important figure in early Upper Canada, Spencer was born in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. During the American Revolution he fought with the British forces and in 1784, when his unit was disbanded, he settled here. Widely acknowledged as a man of ability and stature, Spencer quickly achieved prominence. He represented this region in the province's first parliament (1792-96) and secured several judicial and administrative appointments. Continuing his distinguished military career, he was commissioned an... -
Madeleine de Roybon d'Allonne
Of noble French birth, de Roybon was the first European woman to own land in what is now Ontario. She came to Fort Frontenac (Kingston), probably in 1679, where she acquired property from René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle, governor and seigneur of the fort. In 1681 she loaned him money to finance his explorations, and about this time he granted her a seigneury extending westward from Toneguignon (Collins Bay). On this land she built a... -
Founder of Pembroke, The
Peter White, born in Edinburgh, was a merchant seaman when he was impressed into the Royal Navy in 1813 and sent to Canada. Following serve on the Great Lakes under Commodore Sir James Yeo, he left the navy and entered the lumber trade in the Ottawa Valley. In May 1828, he first visited the wilderness site of Pembroke and. Attracted by its timber potential, made his headquarters here. One of the area's principal lumber merchants... -
William Buell, Sr. 1751-1832
Renowned as the founder of Brockville, Buell was born in Hebron, Connecticut. Shortly after the outbreak of the American Revolution, he moved to Quebec where he joined the British forces and eventually served as a commissioned officer in the King's Rangers. In 1784, after his unit had been disbanded, he settled on a Crown grant here in the centre of present-day Brockville. One of the area's first permanent residents, Buell became an influential local citizen... -
Ogle Robert Gowan 1803-1876
A prominent provincial politician, Gowan was born in County Wexford, Ireland. He came to Upper Canada in 1829 and immediately immersed himself in political affairs. Drawing upon his experience with the Irish Orange Order, Gowan established the Grand Orange Lodge of British North America in 1830 and, as the first Canadian grand master, ably guided the organization during its formative years. In 1836 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly, representing this area intermittently until... -
Lieutenant-Colonel John By, R.E.
Born in London, England, about 1779, By graduated from the Royal Military academy, Woolwich, in 1799. He was attached to the Royal Engineers in Canada (1802-1811) and later served in the Peninsular War. By was sent to Canada in 1826 to superintend the construction of an Ottawa River - Lake Ontario waterway from "Bytown" (Ottawa) to Kingston. The 123-mile-long Rideau Canal, built as a military route and incorporating 47 locks, 16 lakes, two rivers, and... -
William Cameron Edwards 1844-1921
A native of Russell County, Edwards entered the family lumber business in 1863. Five years later, he and James Woods established the firm of W.C. Edwards & Company. The sawmills they built in Rockland contributed substantially to the community's economic development. Edwards entered politics in 1887 and sat as the federal member for Russell until 1903, when he was appointed to the Senate. As federal and provincial governments developed forest policies in response to the... -
Frederick Arthur Verner 1836-1928
Verner was born at Sheridan, Halton County, and educated at Guelph. In 1856 he went to England to study art. Returning to Toronto, he established his first studio in 1862. Like his older contemporary, Paul Kane, Verner travelled through the west, recording the life of the Plains Indians and painting the great buffalo herds. An early member of the Ontario Society of Artists, he was later elected to the Royal Canadian Academy. He lived in... -
Honourable Thomas Laird Kennedy 1878-1959, The
Born on a farm which included this site, Kennedy was educated locally and in Toronto, and became active in local politics. He served with distinction in the First World War, later attaining the rank of colonel in the militia. Elected in 1919 to the provincial parliament as a Conservative member for Peel, he retained this seat, with the exception of one term, until his death. A fruit grower most of his life, he was concerned... -
Frederic W. Cumberland 1820-1881
An outstanding Canadian architect, civil engineer and railway manager, Cumberland was born in England and practiced there before immigrating to Toronto in 1847. He quickly gained recognition, designing such notable buildings as St. James Cathedral (1850-53) and University College (1856-59), Toronto. In 1860 he completed this house, Pendarvis, in which he lived for 21 years. As an engineer, Cumberland became increasingly involved in railway construction and management, and after 1858 achieved wide prominence as managing...