Browse "History/Historical Figures"

Coureurs des bois were itinerant, unlicenced fur traders from New France. They were known as “wood-runners” to the English on Hudson Bay and “bush-lopers” to the Anglo-Dutch of New York. Unlike voyageurs, who were licensed to transport goods to trading posts, coureurs des bois were considered outlaws of sorts because they did not have permits from colonial authorities. The independent coureurs des bois played an important role in the European exploration of the continent. They were also vital in establishing trading contacts with Indigenous peoples.

Cowboys and cowgirls are people employed to tend cattle or horses. The first cowboys to work on the Canadian prairies arrived in the 1870s. The traditional cowboy lifestyle has since given way to a more contained, corporate model of ranching. But the romanticized image of the cowboy on the “open range” lives on as a symbol of the prairies. Today, the terms cowboy and cowgirl can refer to ranch workers or rodeo competitors.

"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.

Cuthbert Grant, fur trader, Métis leader (born circa 1793 in Fort de la Rivière Tremblante, SK; died 15 July 1854 in White Horse Plains, MB). Grant led the Métis to victory at Seven Oaks in 1816 and founded the Métis community Grantown (later St. François Xavier), Manitoba, in 1824. Today, Cuthbert Grant is hailed as a founder of the Métis nation. (See also Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)

D'Alton Corey Coleman, railway executive (b at Carleton Place, Ont 9 July 1879; d at Montréal 17 Oct 1956). After acting as private secretary to Senator George Cox in 1897 and as editor of the Belleville Intelligencer, Coleman joined the CPR in 1899.

Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, military officer and French colonial governor (b at Orthez, France 12 Feb 1661; d at Cannes-L'Ecluse, France 20 Nov 1732). Subercase arrived at Québec in 1687 as a captain in the Marine.

Daniel de Rémy de Courcelle, governor of New France 1665-72 (b in France 1626; d there 24 Oct 1698). Courcelle, a nobleman and a military officer, arrived at Québec "breathing nothing but war" and determined to defeat the powerful Iroquois Confederacy.

Daniel Greysolon Dulhut, coureur de bois, fur trader, explorer (b at St-Germain-Laval, France c 1639; d at Montréal 25 Feb 1710). Dulhut helped extend the French trading empire around the Upper Great Lakes.

David Blythe Hanna, accountant, railway director (b at Thornliebank, Scot 20 Dec 1858; d at Toronto 1 Dec 1938).

David Boyle, blacksmith, teacher, archaeologist, museologist, historian (b at Greenock, Scot 1 May 1842; d at Toronto, Ont 14 Feb 1911). Although apprenticed as a blacksmith on arriving in Canada in 1856, Boyle became internationally prominent as Canada's premier archaeologist before WWI.

In 1881 Read retired from his legal practice and devoted himself to preserving Ontario's history. He wrote articles, gave lectures and participated in historical societies.

David Vivian Currie, VC, auto mechanic, welder, soldier, House of Commons sergeant-at-arms (born 8 July 1912 in Sutherland, SK; died 24 June 1986 in Ottawa, ON). During the Second World War, Major Currie was the only member of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps to be awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for bravery among troops of the British Empire.

David Spencer. Patron, b Toronto 27 Oct 1915; BA (British Columbia) 1938. A lawyer by profession, Spencer became a member of the music section of the Community Arts Council of Vancouver after World War II and served as its chairman for two years.

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.

Born in London of Welsh parents, David Thompson was an outsider, struggling to find a foothold in the empire that had consumed his country. He described himself as “a solitary traveler, unknown to the world.

 De Meurons, Swiss infantry regiment raised 1781; transferred 1795 to the British army. It served in India until October 1806, then moved to England, and was sent to Lower Canada in August 1813.

Dekanahwideh, "the Heavenly Messenger," reputed founder of the Five Nations Confederacy. He was said to have been born among the Huron of a virgin mother, and destined to bring peace and power to his people.

Delos Rogest Davis, KC, teacher and lawyer (born 4 August 1846 in Maryland, died 13 April 1915 in Anderdon Township, ON). Davis was the second Black lawyer in Canada and the first Black person appointed to the King’s Counsel in all of the British Empire.

Demasduwit (also known as Shendoreth, Waunathoake, Mary March), one of the last of the Beothuk (born 1796; died 8 January 1820 at Bay of Exploits, Newfoundland). Demasduwit helped to preserve the Beothuk language and culture. In 2007, the Canadian government recognized her as a person of national historic significance.

Deskaheh (also known as Levi General), Cayuga chief and speaker of the Six Nations Hereditary Council (born on the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario in 1873; died at the Tuscarora Reservation, New York, on 25 June 1925).