Browse "Geographers & Cartographers"

André Siegfried, geographer, political commentator (born 21 April 1875 in Le Havre, France; died 28 March 1959 in Paris, France). Preeminent French geographer of his generation, Siegfried is the author of several books about Canada and North America.

Andrew Hill Clark, historical geographer (b at Fairford, Man 29 Apr 1911; d at Madison, Wisc 21 May 1975). Son of a Baptist medical missionary, Clark was educated at McMaster and University of Toronto where he studied with geographer Griffith Taylor and economic historian Harold Innis.

Arthur Oliver Wheeler, surveyor, mountaineer (born at Lyrath, Ireland 1 May 1860; died at Banff, Alta 20 March 1945). Qualifying in 1881 as Ontario land surveyor, he also obtained Dominion (1882), Manitoba (1882), British Columbia (1891) and Alberta (1911) credentials.

Charles George Horetzky, photographer, explorer, civil servant (b at Edinburgh, Scot 20 June 1838; d at Toronto 30 Apr 1900). An employee of the Hudson's Bay Co, he was at Fort Garry in 1869 during the RED RIVER REBELLION.

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.

The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.

Donald Fulton Putnam, geographer, educator (b at Lower Onslow, NS 15 Aug 1903; d at Toronto 23 Feb 1977). Although his early training was in agriculture and soils, he was invited by Griffith TAYLOR, founder of the Department of Geography at University of Toronto, to join the department in 1938.

Édouard-Gaston Deville, surveyor (b at La Charité sur Noire, Nièvre, France 21 Feb 1849; d at Ottawa 21 Sept 1924). Educated at the naval school at Brest, Deville served in the French Navy and was in charge of its hydrographic surveys throughout the world.

James White, geographer (b at Ingersoll, Ont 3 Feb 1863; d at Ottawa 26 Feb 1928). He was educated at RMC and in 1884 he was employed as an assistant topographer in the GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA, where he carried out numerous surveys in Ontario, Québec and the Rocky Mts.

In 1882 Macoun was appointed to the GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA as Dominion botanist and began a study of the range and distribution of Canada's flora, adding fauna when he became survey naturalist and assistant director in 1887.

John Rae, fur trader, explorer, surgeon, author (born 30 Sept 1813 in Orkney, Scotland; died 22 July 1893 in London, England).

His skill in surveying and mapping had been noted, and in 1763 he was employed by the Admiralty to prepare charts of the coastline and offshore waters of Nova Scotia, at the same time that James COOK was working in Newfoundland and Samuel HOLLAND in the Gulf of St Lawrence and New England.

Louis-Edmond Hamelin, OC, GOQ, geographer (born 21 March 1923 in Saint-Didace, QC; died 11 February 2020 in Quebec City, QC).

Louis Jolliet, explorer, cartographer, king’s hydrographer, fur trader, seigneur, organist, teacher (baptized 21 September 1645 in Québec City; died between 4 May and 18 Oct 1700 likely near Île d'Anticosti).

Mina Benson Hubbard (née Mina Benson, also Mina Benson Hubbard Ellis), explorer, geographer, author, nurse, teacher (born 15 April 1870 near Bewdley, ON; died 4 May 1956 in the County of Surrey, England). After her husband died while exploring the interior of Labrador, Mina Benson Hubbard embarked on an expedition to complete his work. She completed the nine-week canoe journey through at least 900 km of Labrador in 1905. Hubbard was one of the first non-Indigenous people to travel extensively in the area. Using measurements and notes taken during her trip, she developed some of the first maps of the region.