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Create AccountEric Cobham, pirate (fl c 1740-60). Based in Newfoundland about 1740 to 1760, Cobham, a native of Poole, England, and his wife, Maria Lindsay, plundered shipping in the Gulf of St Lawrence, their crimes undetected because they sank nearly every vessel captured and murdered the crews.
Charles de Saint-Étienne de La Tour, colonizer, trader, governor of Acadia (b at Champagne, France 1593; d at Cap de Sable, Acadia 1663). La Tour possibly reached Acadia as early as 1606, living there permanently from 1610.
In the early 20th Century, most North End residents of Halifax perceived themselves as being collectively disadvantaged, compared to wealthier South End residents. However, within the North End certain groups — notably racial minorities, the elderly, non-British immigrants, members of the military, and unmarried women with children — stood out as being particularly vulnerable. They were among the hardest-hit in the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion of 1917.
Among the approximately 2,000 victims who died in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, one-quarter were children under the age of 18. Many other young people survived but would carry physical and emotional scars with them for the remainder of their lives. Dead and wounded children were the most poignant victims of the disaster.
Samuel Glode (also spelled Gloade), Mi’kmaq lumberjack, hunting and fishing guide, trapper, soldier and war hero (born 20 April 1880 in Milton, NS; died 26 October 1957 in Halifax, NS) was a veteran of the First World War. He served as an engineer and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for his heroic actions after the Armistice of 11 November 1918.
Robert Duncan Wilmot, senator (1867–80), lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick (1880–85), politician, businessman (born 16 October 1809 in Fredericton, NB; died 13 February 1891 in Sunbury County, NB).
"Thomas Willoughby, thou art a ne'er-do-well! Get thee to Cupers Cove and reform thyself." Young Willoughby, 19, may not have heard exactly those words, but he was sent to Cupers Cove, Newfoundland in 1612 to 'reform himself.
Soldiers rounding up terrified civilians, expelling them from their land, burning their homes and crops ‒ it sounds like a 20th century nightmare in one of the world's trouble spots, but it describes a scene from Canada's early history, the Deportation of the Acadians.
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.
Joshua Mauger, colonial entrepreneur, sea captain, politician (baptized 25 April 1725 in the parish of St. John, Jersey; died 18 October 1788 at Warborne, near Lymington, England). Mauger was one of Nova Scotia’s wealthiest and most influential merchants in the 18th century. Although he only spent 11 years in the colony, he exerted significant power in its business and politics for two decades after. His complex involvement with Nova Scotia underscores the bonds of subservience and influence that hindered the colony’s early development. Mauger also enslaved Black people and built a significant portion of his business empire on the labour of enslaved people.
Walter Patterson, army officer, landowner, first British governor of St. John’s Island [Prince Edward Island] (born c. 1735 near Rathmelton, County Donegal, Ireland; died 6 September 1798 in London, England). Patterson served with the British army in North America during the Seven Years’ War. In 1770, he was sworn in as the first British governor of St. John’s Island (renamed Prince Edward Island in 1799). His time as governor was marked by land speculation and political uproar.
Bernard Donald Macdonald, Roman Catholic bishop of Charlottetown (b at Allisary, PEI 25 Dec 1797; d at St Dunstan's College, near Charlottetown, 30 Dec 1859). In 1812 Macdonald was one of the first 2 Island boys sent to study for the priesthood at the Grand Seminary of Québec.
Thomas Head Raddall, historical novelist (b at Hythe, Eng 13 Nov 1903; d at Liverpool, NS 1 Apr 1994). Raddall was brought as a boy to Nova Scotia, the province about which he was to write in a score of books, fictional and nonfictional.
Enos Collins, merchant, privateer, banker (b at Liverpool, NS 5 Sept 1774; d at Halifax 18 Nov 1871). Enos went to sea as a cabin boy on one of his father's fishing vessels, becoming master of a trading ship before he was 19.
Robert John Parsons, journalist, politician (b at Harbour Grace, Nfld, c 1802; d at St John's 20 June 1883). With William Carson and other Newfoundland Liberals, he founded the weekly Newfoundland Patriot in 1833 and became its sole owner and editor (1840).
Thomas Baillie, soldier, administrator (b at Hanwell, Eng 4 Oct 1796; d at Boulogne, France 20 May 1863).
Their expedition had some success, but the colony was abandoned in 1607 after the revocation of its trading monopoly.
As a young man, Biencourt was reputedly tactless in dealing with others, and his violent quarrels with Jesuit missionaries undoubtedly harmed the colony. His determination, however, was crucial to the survival of the French presence in Acadia after a disastrous English raid in 1613.
Montagu Wilmot, British army officer, governor of Nova Scotia (d at Halifax 23 May 1766). An officer from 1730, Wilmot served almost exclusively in Nova Scotia 1746-66 and was at the siege of LOUISBOURG in 1758 as a regimental commander.
Richard Philipps, governor of Nova Scotia 1717-49 (b in Pembrokeshire, Wales c 1661; d at London, Eng 14 Oct 1750). Although he spent little time in Nova Scotia (1720-22, 1729-31), his dealings with the Acadians in 1730 had a strong effect on subsequent events.
