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Scarborough Bluffs, The
The layers of sand and clay exposed in these bluffs display a remarkable geological record of the last stages of the Great Ice Age. Unique in North America, they have attracted worldwide scientific interest. The first 46 metres (150 feet) of sediments contain fossil plants and animals that were deposited in a large river delta during the first advance of the Wisconsinan glacier some 70,000 years ago. They are covered by 61 metres (200 feet)... -
Second Invasion of York 1813, The
On the morning of July 31, 1813, a U.S. invasion fleet appeared off York (Toronto), after having withdrawn from a planned attack on British positions at Burlington Heights. That afternoon, 300 American soldiers came ashore near here. Their landing was unopposed: there were no British regulars in town, and York 's militia had withdrawn from further combat in return for its freedom during the American invasion three months earlier. The invaders seized food and military... -
Sexual Diversity Activism at the University of Toronto
Having first met off campus, the University of Toronto Homophile Association (UTHA) convened again on November 4, 1969, at University College to advocate equality and freedom for gay men and lesbians. This was the first group of its kind at a Canadian university. Early on, UTHA attracted supporters far beyond the University of Toronto community, influencing the formation of like-minded groups on university campuses and in communities across Ontario and the country. UTHA was closely... -
Sir John Lefroy 1817-1890
A pioneer in the study of terrestrial magnetism, Lefroy was director of the magnetic observatory here from 1842 to 1853. Born in Hampshire, England, he was commissioned in the Royal Artillery at the age of seventeen and, because of his aptitude for science, was posted to St. Helena in 1839 to establish a magnetic observatory. Three years later, he was transferred to Toronto. During 1843-44, Lefroy conducted the first comprehensive magnetic and meteorological survey in... -
Sir William Campbell 1758-1834
Campbell was born near Caithness, Scotland. He fought with the British forces during the American Revolution and was taken prisoner at Yorktown in 1781. Three years later, he was practising law in Nova Scotia where, in 1799, he was elected to the House of Assembly. In 1811, Campbell moved to Upper Canada where he had accepted a judgeship on the Court of King's Bench. He was made chief justice of the province and speaker of... -
St. James' Cathedral
York's first church was built here in 1803-07 with the aid of public subscriptions and a government grant. That frame building was enlarged in 1818-19 and replaced by a larger one in 1831. The first incumbent was the Rev. George Okill Stuart, who served from 1800 to 1812, when he was succeeded by the Rev. John Strachan, later first bishop of Toronto. The second church was burnt in 1839. Toronto's first cathedral was then erected on this site but was destroyed in the great fire of 1849. The present cathedral was begun in 1850, opened for divine service in 1853, and completed in 1874. -
St. Lawrence Hall 1850
Erected in 1850, this structure provided a grand public hall in the St. Lawrence marketplace, then the centre of Toronto, for concerts, balls, meetings and other civic events. Seating a thousand, it was proudly regarded as one of the city's finest buildings. Here, Jenny Lind sang, the Anti-Slavery Society met, and George Brown addressed ardent Reform gatherings before Confederation. When the centre of the city shifted north and west in the 1870s, St. Lawrence Hall's great era ended. -
St. Michael's College
In 1852, this college was established as a Roman Catholic boys' school in the palace of the Right Reverend Armand, Comte de Charbonnel, Bishop of Toronto and a vigorous opponent of the public school system in Canada West. The minor seminary opened by Basilian priests that year was combined with the school in 1853, and, in 1855, St. Michael's college was incorporated. A new collegiate structure and adjoining parish church, St. Basil's, were built here... -
Women's Law Association of Ontario
Founded in 1919, the Women's Law Association of Ontario (WLAO) was the first organization to work actively to create a place for women at Osgoode Hall. With membership open to law students, lawyers and judges, the non-profit organization advances issues relevant to women in law through networking, educational and social events. Strengthened by the women's rights movement, the WLAO's first 100 years marked Canada's first female lawyer being called to the bar, the first female... -
Honourable Gordon D. Conant 1885-1953, The
Ontario's twelfth prime minister was born in Oshawa and educated at the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall. A practising lawyer, he was a leader in civic affairs and in 1916-17 served as mayor of Oshawa. During the following years he held various municipal offices, and in 1937 was elected to the provincial legislature as Liberal member for the riding of Ontario. He was appointed attorney general that year for the administration of the Hon... -
Honourable Herbert Alexander Bruce, M.D. 1868-1963, The
A distinguished surgeon and able public servant, Bruce was born in Blackstock and educated at the Toronto School of Medicine. In 1897, after obtaining a fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, he established a surgical practice in Toronto. Unable to secure adequate facilities for his patients, he founded The Wellesley Hospital, presiding over its official opening in 1912. Except for a period during World War I when he was active overseas, Bruce... -
Horning's Mills
In 1830, Lewis Horning, a successful settler from the Hamilton area, located in this vicinity with his family. He cleared 80 acres of land and built a sawmill, grist-mill and frame house, but later returned to Hamilton. With the opening of a government road through the district in 1848, the few families who had settled near Horning were joined by others and a post office was opened in 1851. The locality's excellent waterpower attracted industry... -
J.E.H. MacDonald 1873-1932
MacDonald, one of Canada's outstanding artists, lived here 1913-1932. Born in Durham, England, of Canadian parents, he came with his family to Hamilton in 1887. Though his formal art training was limited, he became one of the founders of the "Group of Seven" and participated in most of its exhibitions. MacDonald's impressive painting, "A Tangled Garden", shown in the 1916 Ontario Society of Artists exhibition, strongly indicated the development of his later style. In 1929... -
James Llewellyn Frise
One of Ontario's leading cartoonists, Jimmy Frise was born near here about 1891 and educated at Myrtle, Seagrave and Port Perry. Wounded at Vimy Ridge in the First World War, he went to Toronto to resume his career in illustrations, a field in which he was entirely self-taught. For the Star Weekly Frise collaborated with the noted humorous writer Gregory Clark in a weekly series. In 1921 he created a half page cartoon, first entitled... -
James Shaver Woodsworth 1874-1942
One of Canada's outstanding reformers and parliamentarians, Woodsworth was born here on "Applewood" farm. Educated at universities in Winnipeg, Toronto and Oxford, England, he served as a Methodist minister, social worker, and longshoreman, 1900-1918. He was actively involved in the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 and two years later was elected to Parliament for Winnipeg North-Centre, which he represented until his death. Passionately earnest in his quest for social justice, Woodsworth worked unceasingly for the... -
Jarvis Collegiate Institute
Established in 1807 as the Home District Grammar School, Jarvis Collegiate is one of the oldest public secondary schools in Ontario. In 1812 the Reverend John Strachan, later first Anglican Bishop of Toronto, became headmaster and during the next decade he laid the groundwork for the school's outstanding reputation. An excellent teacher and ardent advocate of higher education under church supervision, Strachan attempted to imbue his students with strong religious principles and insisted upon a... -
King's College
The first university in the province, King's College was chartered in 1827 through the efforts of the Reverend John Strachan. This site was acquired by the College the following year. Sectarian and political criticism of the Church of England's control of the College delayed construction, but in 1843 classes commenced in the former Parliament Buildings on Front Street. The only completed portion of the college complex, designed by the Toronto architect, Thomas Young, was built... -
Lieutenant-Colonel C.R. McCullough 1865-1947
An ardent Canadian and a founder of the Canadian Club movement, McCullough was born in Bowmanville and moved to Hamilton in 1888. He and four companions, in December 1892, determined to found an organization which would encourage the study of Canada's history, literature, resources and native talents. The first Canadian Club was inaugurated in Hamilton in February, 1893, and W. S. Evans, one of the originators, served as president 1893-94 while McCullough held that position 1895-96. The Canadian Club movement spread throughout the Dominion and a central association was formed in 1909. -
Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe 1752-1806
The First Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Present-Day Ontario, John Graves Simcoe was born in Cotterstock, Northamptonshire and attended Exeter Fress Grammar School in his early youth. He entered the army in 1770 and commanded a regiment in the American Revolution. During his active administration of Upper Canada, 1791-1796, Simcoe laid the foundation for the province's orderly growth and development. He died in a house on this site and is buried at Wolford Chapel, Dunkeswell, near Honiton. -
Lloydtown
In 1832, Jesse Lloyd, a Quaker who had come from Pennsylvania to Upper Canada about 1812, purchased 60 acres of land in this vicinity. During the following years he sold portions of his property to incoming settlers. The erection of a grist-mill, sawmill and woolen mill, two tanneries, stores and a number of pioneer industries hastened Lloydtown's growth. By 1851 the community contained a post-office and two churches and had a population of about 350... -
Lord Beaverbrook 1879-1964
One of the Commonwealth's best-known publishers, politicians and philanthropists, William Maxwell Aitken, was born in Maple. The son of the Reverend William Aitken, a Presbyterian minister, he was educated in Newcastle, New Brunswick, to which his family moved in 1880. After a highly successful career in Canada as a financier he entered the British House of Commons in 1910 as a strong advocate of Imperial Preferences and was raised to the peerage in 1917 as... -
Lucy Maud Montgomery
In this house, the author of "Anne of Green Gables" lived for fifteen years, and here wrote eleven of her twenty-two novels, including "Anne of the Island" (1915) and "Anne's House of Dreams" (1916). Born in 1874 at Clifton, Prince Edward Island, she was educated at Charlottetown and Halifax. From 1898 to 1911 she lived at Cavendish, P. E. I., and there began her career as a novelist. In 1911 she married the Reverend Ewan... -
Mary Pickford
Born in 1893 in a house that stood near this site, Gladys Marie Smith appeared on stage in Toronto at the age of five. Her theatrical career took her to Broadway in 1907 where she adopted the name Mary Pickford. The actress's earliest film, "Her First Biscuits," was released by the Biograph company in 1909 and she soon established herself as the international cinema's first great star. Her golden curls and children's roles endeared her... -
Masseys at Newcastle, The
One of the world's largest manufacturers of heavy farm machinery, Massey-Ferguson has its foundations in a modest family business developed in Newcastle. Established in Bond Head by Daniel Massey, the fledgling operation was moved to large quarters here in 1849. For 30 years the Newcastle Foundry and Machinery Manufactory prospered under the shrewd management of three generations of enterprising Masseys. Capitalizing on the expanding wheat market, Hart, Daniel's son, skillfully adapted American-designed implements to suit... -
Mazo de la Roche 1879-1961
Born Mazo Louise Roche in Newmarket, this celebrated Canadian writer attended the Ontario School of Art and the University of Toronto. She established an international literary reputation when her book "Jalna" won the Atlantic Monthly competition of 1927. It was the first of 16 novels narrating the history of the Whiteoak family and set in the Clarkson, Ontario, area. The books provide a comprehensive picture of life in the province from the mid-19th to mid-20th...