Born: 2 Feb 1935, Summerside, Prince Edward Island Died: 7 Jun 2002, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Field: Oceanography Needler played important roles in the development of Canadian oceanography. As a founding member of BIO, he helped shape its scientific program. He also served as Head, Ocean Circulation Division at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) from 1975 to 1978 and … Read More
Neish, Arthur C.
Born: 4 July 1916, Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia Died: 7 September 1973 Field: Plant biochemistry Neish succeeded E. Gordon Young as Director of the Atlantic Regional Laboratory in Halifax in 1962. He was an Officer of the Order of Canada, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Chemical Institute of Canada. Neish was awarded … Read More
Newcomb, Simon
Born: 12 March 1835, Wallace, Nova Scotia Died: 11 July 1909, Washington, DC, USA Field: Astronomer and Mathematician Simon Newcomb was born at Wallace, Nova Scotia, son of John and Emily Newcomb. He went to the United States in 1853, and studied at the Laurence Scientific School at Harvard; he was awarded a B.Sc. in 1858. In 1861, … Read More
Patch, John
Born: ca 1780, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Died: 1861 Field: Sea captain, inventor Sea captain and considered to be the co-inventor of the marine screw propeller (this device may also have been developed concurrently in Europe), successfully testing a prototype in 1833. Discouraged from applying for a US patent, despite the advantage such a propeller gave over huge inefficient paddle-wheels, he … Read More
Porter, Keith R.
Born: 1912, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Died: 1997 Field: Biologist Biologist who became a pioneer in electron microscopy at the Rockefeller Institute in New York. Obtained the first useful high-resolution pictures of intact cells of higher organisms. Published over 150 papers and a book on ultrastructure. Elected member of the U.S. National Academy of … Read More
Riley, Gordon A.
Born: 11 Jun 1911, Webb City, Missouri, USA Died: 7 Oct 1985, Halifax, Nova Scotia Field: Biological Oceanographer A pioneer of quantitative biological oceanography, Riley became Director of the Institute of Oceanography at Dalhousie University in 1965. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Related Links Dalhousie Oceanography: Gordon Riley Bibliography The Canadian Encyclopedia
Roland, Albert E.
Born: ??? Died: 1991 Field: Botanist The herbarium collection at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College is named in honour of Dr. Albert E. Roland, Professor Emeritus of Biology at the NSAC, for his lifelong contribution to the understanding of the natural history of Nova Scotia. Throughout Dr. Roland’s long and productive career as Provincial Botanist and Professor of Biology … Read More
Smith, Titus
Born: 1768, Granby, Massachusetts Died: 1850 Field: Land surveyor and cartographer Born in Massachusetts, emigrated to NS with his loyalist family in 1783 (age 15). Land surveyor and cartographer, producing fine maps of NS, but also known widely as an agriculturist, botanist, natural historian. An early natural resources ecologist and advocate, he was about a century ahead of his time … Read More
Tory, Henry M.
Born: 1864, Port Shoreham, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia Died: 1947 Field: Physicist Mathematician, physicist, educator. Among the institutions he was involved in founding were the University of Alberta (1st President, 1908) and Carleton University (1st President, 1942). He was instrumental also in founding the Alberta Research Council and the National Research Council of Canada, in the latter case especially in … Read More
Wilson, Arthur J.C.
Born: 28 Nov 1914, Springhill, Nova Scotia Died: 1 July 1995, Cambridge, England Field: X-ray Crystallographer Wilson was educated at King’s Collegiate School in Windsor, Nova Scotia (1922/1930) and at Dalhousie University, Halifax (1930/36), where he graduated in 1934. It was at Dalhousie that he started his academic career and in 1936 he obtained an MSc, under the direction of … Read More