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106 plaques found that match your criteria
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Horatio George Summers 1865-1941
Comedian, actor and theatrical manager, George Summers established the Mountain Park Theatre here in 1902. It was one of the earliest theatres of its kind in Ontario. For twelve successful seasons, "Geo. H. Summers Theatrical Enterprises" performed in Hamilton in the summer and toured during the winter. Most of the repertoire was popular melodrama, much of it written by Summers himself. On stage, he was particularly renowned for his portrayal of Rip Van Winkle. After... -
Josiah Blackburn 1823-1890
The son of a Congregationalist minister, Blackburn was born in London, England. After some experience in journalism, he immigrated to Canada West (now Ontario) in 1850 and joined the staff of The Star in Paris. Two years later he purchased a small London weekly, The Canadian Free Press, from its founder, William Sutherland. Blackburn's keen business sense and flair for political writing made this newspaper a success. In 1855, he began a daily, The London... -
Gideon Tiffany 1774-1854
A native of New Hampshire who had come to Niagara in 1794, Tiffany was appointed King's Printer and published the official "Upper Canada Gazette" until 1797. He was not a Loyalist and the government, concerned by his American background, forced his resignation. In 1799, he and his brother Silvester founded at Niagara this province's first independent newspaper, the "Canada Constellation". When it failed in 1800, Gideon moved to Delaware where, with Moses Brigham and another... -
William Pope 1811-1902
William Pope grew up in the lush countryside of southern England and studied painting at the Academy of Art, London. Reports of abundant wildlife drew the keen sportsman and naturalist to Upper Canada in 1834. After three extended visits, he settled permanently with his family near Port Ryerse in 1859. Financially independent, Pope spent his days hunting, sketching and painting the local flora and fauna. His watercolours of birds are compared to those of John... -
Honourable James Young 1835-1913, The
Born in Galt, Young was educated locally, and from 1853-63 was editor and publisher of the Dumfries Reformer. From 1867-78 he represented South Waterloo in the Canadian parliament, and from 1879-86 was member for North Brant in the Ontario legislature. Appointed provincial treasurer in 1883, he was compelled by illness to resign the post four months later, though he remained a member until 1886. A frequent speaker and writer on commercial affairs, Young was also... -
Loring-Wyle Studio, The
This board-and-batten building, originally the schoolhouse for Christ Church, Deer Park, was acquired in 1920 by Frances Loring and Florence Wyle. Sculpting in the classical tradition, they achieved national prominence and executed many impressive public works, among which are Loring's Sir Robert Borden on Parliament Hill and Wyle's Edith Cavell in Toronto. They were founding members of the Sculptors' Society of Canada and their studio was an important artistic centre where musicians, writers, sculptors, painters... -
Honourable William McDougall 1822-1905, The
Father of Confederation, William McDougall was born on a farm in this vicinity. He became a solicitor and in 1850 founded the North American, a newspaper which became the voice of the "Clear Grit" Liberals. A leading Reformer, McDougall became Provincial Secretary in the coalition government that sought confederation. He attended the Quebec and London Conferences which negotiated the terms of federal union. Appointed first Lieutenant-Governor of the North West Territories in 1869, he was... -
John Ross Robertson 1841-1918
Publisher and philanthropist, John Ross Robertson lived in this house, 1881-1918. He was born in Toronto and while at Upper Canada College he started The College Times, the first school newspaper in Canada. He became city editor of The Globe in 1865 and the following year, with James B. Cook, established The Daily Telegraph, published until 1872. Four years later Robertson founded The Evening Telegram which quickly became one of Toronto's leading newspapers. Financial success... -
Memorial Hall 1906
This building, the first in Ontario to be constructed for use solely as an historical museum, was begun in 1906 and completed the following year. Its erection was due largely to the dedicated efforts of Miss Janet Carnochan, founder, and for thirty years curator of the Niagara Historical Society. Previously the Society had used a room in the Town Hall to preserve objects of this early Loyalist region. Donations were received from the federal and... -
First Newspaper 1793, The
The Upper Canada Gazette or American Oracle, first newspaper in what is now Ontario, was published in the town of Niagara. Its first issue, edited by Louis Roy appeared April 18, 1793. On this site was published The Gleaner which from 1817 to 1837, under the editorship of Andrew and Samuel Heron, was one of the most prominent newspapers in Upper Canada. -
Major John Richardson 1796-1852
This pioneer historian, author and soldier was born in Queenston. His family moved to Amherstburg about 1802, and at the outbreak of the War of 1812, Richardson joined the British army. Retired on half pay in 1818 in London, England, he published the epic poem "Tecumseh" and the celebrated historical novel "Wacousta" which established his literary reputation. In 1838, Richardson returned to Upper Canada where he published two weekly newspapers, "The New Era" (1841-42) and... -
In this house, built in 1818, William Kirby, F.R.S.C., historian, novelist, poet and editor of the Niagara Mail, lived from 1857 to 1906. His historical romance, The Golden Dog, stimulated interest in Canada’s history and won for him international renown.
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Grey Owl 1888-1938
As a youth in England, Archibald Belaney was fascinated with wildlife and tales of North American Indians. At seventeen he came to Canada and soon began living among the Ojibwa on Bear Island. He adopted native dress and customs, and worked as a woodsman, fire ranger and trapper in northeastern Ontario. In the 1920s, Belaney became concerned that the lumber industry and sportsmen were plundering the northern wilderness and threatening the survival of native culture... -
Louis Hémon 1880-1913
The author of "Maria Chapdelaine", Hémon was born at Brest, France. He emigrated to Canada in 1911 and spent about eight months in the Lac St-Jean region of Quebec. While working on a farm near Péribonka, he wrote this well-known novel, a story of habitant pioneer life, which won widespread recognition. Acclaimed by literary critics in France, it was translated into English and many other languages. The French and English versions sold over a million... -
Honourable George Brown, The
Across the Grand River at this point lies "Bow Park". Once the farm of George Brown, a leading architect of Confederation, who built up an estate of some 800 acres beginning in 1866. A Scottish immigrant, Brown founded the Toronto "Globe" in l844, the influential Reform journal which helped him become a powerful political figure. As leader of the "Clear Grit" Liberals and champion of Canada West, Brown entered the "Great Collection" government of 1864... -
Grey Owl 1888-1938
As a youth in England, Archibald Belaney was fascinated with wildlife and tales of North American Indians. At seventeen he came to Canada and soon began living among the Ojibwa on Bear Island. He adopted native dress and customs, and worked as a woodsman, fire ranger and trapper in northeastern Ontario. In the 1920s, Belaney became concerned that the lumber industry and sportsmen were plundering the northern wilderness and threatening the survival of native culture... -
Lawren Harris 1885-1970
Born into a prominent Brantford family, Lawren Harris began to paint as a child. At the University of Toronto, a professor noticed he sketched during lectures and advised he be sent to Europe to study art. While in Germany (1904-1907), Harris was influenced by urban realism, landscape regionalism, and theosophy, a transcendental, mystical school of thought. In 1920 he helped found the Group of Seven, an association of landscape artists dedicated to creating a distinctly... -
Mary Ann Shadd Cary 1823-1893
African Americans came to Canada in increasing numbers after the United States passed the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850. Some settled in segregated communities: others, like Mary Ann Shadd, promoted full integration into society. A teacher and anti-slavery crusader, Shadd immigrated to Windsor in 1851. She started the "Provincial Freeman" in 1853 to encourage Blacks to seek equality through education and self-reliance. Two years later she moved to the newspaper to Chatham, where it operated... -
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... -
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... -
Bon Echo Inn
In the early twentieth century many well-known Canadian artists painted and sketched in this area. They were drawn here by the striking landscape and the ideals of the owners of the Bon Echo Inn. Flora MacDonald Denison, a Toronto feminist, bought the inn in 1910. Inspired by the philosophy of American poet Walt Whitman, she set out to create a wilderness retreat for the avant-garde. Guests were offered painting lessons, amateur theatre, and poetry readings... -
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... -
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... -
Fool's Paradise
This property sits on the ecologically sensitive, geologically significant Scarborough Bluffs that display sediments left by glaciers over 70,000 years during the last phase of the Pleistocene epoch. Aboriginal peoples may have inhabited this site as early as 8,000 B.C. Scottish immigrant James McCowan settled this land for farming in 1833, calling it "Springbank" because of the springs running from the ancient shoreline of Lake Iroquois (predecessor of Lake Ontario) to the north. In 1939... -
John McCrae 1872-1918
Born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, McCrae was educated at the University of Toronto's medical school, graduating as a gold medallist in 1898. He served (1899-1900) in the Boer War with the artillery and during the First World War attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Canadian Medical Corps. In the intervening years he taught medicine at McGill University, wrote poetry and earned recognition for his contributions to medical journals and his textbook on pathology. He...