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John James Rickard Macleod, physiologist, co-discoverer of insulin (born 6 September 1876 in Cluny, Scotland; died 16 March 1935 in Aberdeen, Scotland). John Macleod was a renowned physiologist and expert in carbohydrate metabolism, who is perhaps best known for his role in the discovery of insulin, a treatment for diabetes mellitus.

John Anderson killed a man in self-defence in the United States while escaping from slavery in 1853. Several years after arriving in Canada, he was threatened with extradition to stand trial for murder in the United States. International agreements made this the law even though Anderson’s chances of getting a fair trial were non-existent. Canadian public opinion opposed the extradition and a protest movement developed in support of Anderson. A Canadian court stopped the extradition while a parallel legal challenge in London led to important changes which shaped Canada’s independent judicial system.

Arthur Roy Brown, fighter pilot and ace, businessman, civil aviation pioneer (born 23 December 1893 in Carleton Place, Ontario; died 9 March 1944 in Stouffville, Ontario). Brown is credited with killing Germany’s top First World War ace, Manfred von Richthofen, the famed “Red Baron.” Richthofen may, however, have been shot down by two Australian army machine-gunners.

Patrick James Whelan, convicted murderer, tailor (born c. 1840 near Dublin, Ireland; died 11 February 1869 in Ottawa, ON). Whelan was arrested for the April 1868 assassination of Member of Parliament and Father of Confederation Thomas D’Arcy McGee. He was convicted in September 1868 and sentenced to death. The authorities suspected that Whelan carried out a Fenian conspiracy to murder McGee and promptly arrested him within 24 hours of the murder; however, it was never fully proved that Whelan was acting as a Fenian sympathizer. Whelan maintained his innocence throughout his trial and until he was hanged publicly in Ottawa in early 1869. There is room for reasonable doubt as to whether Whelan did in fact murder McGee or was simply part of a group of people who did. McGee was the only federal politician to be assassinated, and Whelan one of the last people to be hanged publicly in Canada.

In the first decade of the 19th century, relations between Great Britain and the United States deteriorated, primarily due to the widening influence of the Napoleonic Wars. At the centre of this movement, two Shawnee brothers implored Indigenous peoples to unite in order to defend their dwindling lands against the growing incursions of Anglo-American settlers and the United States government. The promise of an Indigenous state never came to fruition. After the War of 1812, the United States and Britain found it more advantageous to ignore Aboriginal title.

Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, officer, founder of Montréal (bap at Neuville-sur-Vanne, France 15 Feb 1612; d at Paris, France 1676).

George Brown, journalist, politician, senator, cattle breeder (born 29 November 1818 in Alloa, Scotland; died 9 May 1880 in Toronto, ON). George Brown played an instrumental role in Confederation. A Reformer who helped bring responsible government to Upper Canada, he orchestrated the great coalition of 1864, which pushed British North America toward Confederation. He participated in the Charlottetown Conference and the Quebec Conference in 1864 and is considered a Father of Confederation. Brown’s journalistic legacy is also significant. His Globe newspaper ushered in the beginning of Canada’s big newspaper business. The widely read Globe was a vigorous force in Upper Canada politics in the 1850s. Today, it is Canada’s major daily newspaper, the Globe and Mail.

Mifflin Wistar Gibbs, politician, judge, diplomat, banker, entrepreneur (born 17 April 1823 in Philadelphia, PA; died 11 July 1915, in Little Rock, AR). Gibbs was a notable figure in both American and Canadian history. In just over a decade in colonial British Columbia, he prospered in business, advocated for the Black community, served as an elected official and helped guide British Columbia into Confederation. Gibbs was the first Black person elected to public office in what is now British Columbia.

Sir Clifford Sifton, PC, KCMG, KC, lawyer, politician, businessman (born 10 March 1861 near Arva, Canada West; died 17 April 1929 in New York City, New York). Sir Clifford Sifton was one of the ablest politicians of his time. He is best known for his aggressive promotion of immigration to settle the Prairie West. Under his leadership, immigration to Canada increased significantly; from 16,835 per year in 1896 to 141,465 in 1905. A Liberal politician of considerable influence and vision, he was also a controversial figure. Sifton promoted a single education system and opposed the public funding of denominational schools, largely disregarding the concerns of French Catholics. He also showed little interest in the Indigenous peoples of the Prairies; he oversaw cuts to Indigenous education and approved Treaty 8. His brother, Arthur Lewis Sifton, was premier of Alberta from 1910 to 1917.

Sir Charles Tupper, prime minister, premier of Nova Scotia 1864–67, doctor (born 2 July 1821 in Amherst, NS; died 30 October 1915 in Bexleyheath, England). Charles Tupper led Nova Scotia into Confederation while he was premier. Over the course of his lengthy political career, he served as a federal Cabinet minister and diplomat, and briefly as prime minister of Canada — his 10-week term is the shortest in Canadian history. He was the last surviving Father of Confederation.

Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, diplomat, politician, entrepreneur (born 6 September 1817 in London, England; died 19 September 1893 in Montréal, QC).

William McDougall, QC, lawyer, journalist, politician, lieutenant-governor of Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory (born 25 January 1822 near York, Upper Canada; died 29 May 1905 in Ottawa, ON).

George Coles, premier of Prince Edward Island (1851–54, 1854–59, 1867–68), distiller, brewer, merchant, farmer (born 20 September 1810 in Prince Edward Island; died 21 August 1875 in Charlottetown Royalty, PE).

Grace Marks, historical figure (born ca. 1828 in Ulster, Ireland [now Northern Ireland]; date and place of death unknown). Grace Marks was an Irish Canadian maid. She was convicted, along with James McDermott, of the murder of their employer Thomas Kinnear, who was killed along with his housekeeper and mistress Nancy Montgomery in 1843. Marks’s trial was widely publicized in newspapers of the day. Her story has also been told in Susanna Moodie’s Life in the Clearings (1853), as well as in Margaret Atwood’s play The Servant Girl (1974) and her novel Alias Grace (1996). The latter was adapted by Sarah Polley into an award-winning CBC miniseries, starring Sarah Gadon as Marks.

François Bigot, financial commissary of Île Royale 1739–1745, intendant of New France 1748–1760 (baptized at Bordeaux, France on 30 Jan 1703; died at Neuchâtel, Switzerland on 12 Jan 1778). Traditionally, Bigot has been remembered for administrative fraud so massive as to cause the Conquest of New France by the British during the Seven Years' War. His legacy is, however, more nuanced as the colony’s economic issues went far beyond Bigot’s own corruption.

The Group of Seven, also known as the Algonquin School, was a school of landscape painters. It was founded in 1920 as an organization of self-proclaimed modern artists and disbanded in 1933. The group presented the dense, northern boreal forest of the Canadian Shield as a transcendent, spiritual force. Their depictions of Canada’s rugged wind-swept forest panoramas were eventually equated with a romanticized notion of Canadian strength and independence. Their works were noted for their bright colours, tactile paint handling, and simple yet dynamic forms. In addition to Tom Thomson, David Milne and Emily Carr, the Group of Seven were the most important Canadian artists of the early 20th century. Their influence is seen in artists as diverse as abstract painter Jack Bush, the Painters Eleven, and Scottish painter Peter Doig.

Lionel-Adolphe Groulx, historian, priest and nationalist spokesman for the French-Canadian population (born 13 January 1878 in Vaudreuil, Quebec; died 23 May in Vaudreuil). Lionel Groulx was an important intellectual figure for the Quebec nationalist movement and generated some controversy for his antisemitic tendencies (see also Delisle-Richler Controversy).

In the mid-1930s, at the height of the Great Depression, Prime Minister R.B. Bennett’s political demise seemed inevitable. He sought to reverse the tide running against his Conservative Party. In January 1935, he began a series of live radio speeches outlining a “New Deal” for Canada. He promised a more progressive taxation system; a maximum work week; a minimum wage; closer regulation of working conditions; unemployment insurance; health and accident insurance; a revised old-age pension; and agricultural support programs. But Bennett’s 11th-hour proposals were seen as too-little, too-late. He lost the 1935 election to William Lyon Mackenzie King and the Liberals.

Charles Oakes Ermatinger, fur trader, merchant, militia officer and Justice of the Peace (born 1 February 1776 in Montreal, Quebec; died 4 September 1833 in Montreal). Ermatinger played an important role in the economic and social life of the frontier region of Sault Ste. Marie and what was then known as the Upper Country.

Sir Wilfrid Laurier, PC, prime minister of Canada 1896–1911, politician, lawyer, journalist (born 20 November 1841 in St-Lin, Canada East; died 17 February 1919 in Ottawa, ON). Sir Wilfrid Laurier was the dominant political figure of his era. He was leader of the Liberal Party from 1887 to 1919 and Prime Minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. A skilful and pragmatic politician with a charismatic personality, he unceasingly sought compromise. Above all, he was a fervent promoter of national unity at a time of radical change and worsening cultural conflict. Laurier also promoted the development and expansion of the country. He encouraged immigration to Western Canada; supported the construction of transcontinental railways; and oversaw the addition of Alberta and Saskatchewan to Confederation.