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Sir David Kirke, trader and privateer, first governor of Newfoundland (born at Dieppe, France c1597; died near London, England 1654). Kirke, with Sir William Alexander, Earl of Stirling, formed the Company of Adventurers, which was granted patents by King Charles I. It gave them the right to trade and settle in Canada. Kirke was the owner of the first recorded Black chattel-slave in New France, Olivier Le Jeune. 

David Thompson, explorer, cartographer (born 30 April 1770 in London, England; died 10 February 1857 in Longueuil, Canada East). David Thomson was called “the greatest land geographer who ever lived.” He walked or paddled 80,000 km or more in his life, mapping most of western Canada, parts of the east and the northwestern United States. And like so many geniuses, his achievements were only recognized after his death.

Francis Bain, geologist, ornithologist, botanist, author, artist (b at Charlottetown 25 Feb 1842; d at York Point, PEI 23 Nov 1894). Bain, a self-educated farmer, was an authority on Prince Edward Island rocks, FOSSILS and natural history.

Alexander Murray, geologist, explorer (b at Crieff, Scot 2 June 1810; d there 18 Dec 1884). Murray served in the Royal Navy 1824-35, and then in 1837 immigrated with his young bride to Woodstock, Upper Canada.

Charles-Eusèbe Dionne, ornithologist (b at St-Denis de Kamouraska, Qué 11 July 1845; d at Québec City 25 Jan 1925). The model of the self-taught man, Dionne was one of the most respected naturalists of French Canada.

Louis-Marcel Raymond, botanist, man of letters (b at St-Jean, Qué 2 Dec 1915; d at Montréal 23 Aug 1972).

William Rowan, ornithologist (b at Basle, Switz 29 July 1891; d at Edmonton 30 June 1957).

Catharine Parr Traill, née Strickland, pioneer writer, botanist (born 9 January 1802 in London, England; died 29 August 1899 in Lakefield, ON). Catharine Parr Traill’s books are some of the earliest in the Canadian literary canon. Works such as The Backwoods of Canada: Being Letters from the Wife of an Emigrant Officer (1836) offer detailed descriptions of pioneer life in Canada, while Canadian Wildflowers (1868) and Studies of Plant Life in Canada (1885) showcase her skill as an amateur botanist.

Joseph-Elzéar Bernier, arctic mariner (born 1 January 1852 in L'Islet, QC; died on 26 December 1934 in Lévis, QC). Captain of the government steamship Arctic, Bernier led seagoing expeditions into the Arctic between 1904 and 1911, certifying Canada's claim to the northern archipelago (see Canadian Arctic Exploration; Arctic Archipelago).

Sir John Franklin, naval officer, Arctic explorer (born 16 April 1786 in Spilsby, England; died 11 June 1847 aboard HMS Erebus near King William Island, Nunavut).

Thorvaldur Johnson, plant pathologist (b at Arnes, Man 23 Oct 1897; d at Winnipeg 15 Sept 1979). Johnson became Margaret NEWTON's assistant at the Winnipeg Rust Research Laboratory in 1925 and was its head from 1953 until his retirement in 1962.

Fredrick Bodsworth, nature writer (born at Port Burwell, Ont 11 Oct 1918, died 15 Sep 2012).

George Lawson, botanist (b at Logan, Scot 12 Oct 1827; d at Halifax 10 Nov 1895). Lawson studied natural and physical sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Assistant secretary and curator for the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, he also worked in Britain's first biological laboratory.

Charles Lavelle Broley, banker, ornithologist (b at Gorrie, Ont 7 Dec 1879; d at Delta, Ont 4 May 1959). A banker in Winnipeg, he was also active in ornithology and conservation. In 1939 he "retired" to winters in Florida and summers in Ontario.

Howard Fredeen, agricultural research scientist (b at Macrorie, Sask 10 Dec 1921).

Sir John Richardson, arctic explorer, naturalist (b at Dumfries, Scot 5 Nov 1787; d at "Lancrigg," Eng 5 June 1865). After qualifying as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1807, Richardson enlisted in the Royal Navy.

Jacques Rousseau, botanist, ethnobiologist, ethnohistorian (b at St-Lambert, Qué 5 Oct 1905; d at Lac Ouareau, Qué 4 Aug 1970).

William Francis Ganong, regional historian, cartographer, botanist, linguist (b at Carleton, NB 19 Feb 1864; d at Saint John 7 Sept 1941). A passionate lover of New Brunswick, Ganong devoted his life to its study.

Samuel de Champlain, cartographer, explorer, colonial administrator, author (born circa 1567 in Brouage, France; died 25 December 1635 in Quebec City). Known as the “Father of New France,” Samuel de Champlain played a major role in establishing New France from 1603 to 1635. He is also credited with founding Quebec City in 1608. He explored the Atlantic coastline (in Acadia), the Canadian interior and the Great Lakes region. He also helped found French colonies in Acadia and at Trois-Rivières, and he established friendly relations and alliances with many First Nations, including the Montagnais, the Huron, the Odawa and the Nipissing. For many years, he was the chief person responsible for administrating the colony of New France. Champlain published four books as well as several maps of North America. His works are the only written account of New France at the beginning of the 17th century.