Famous Canadians Theme Page

This "Theme Page" has links to two types of resources related to the study of famous Canadians. Students and teachers will find curricular resources (information, content...) to help them learn about this topic. In addition, there are also links to instructional materials (lesson plans) which will help teachers provide instruction in this theme. Please read our disclaimer.

British Columbia Archives presents 11 curricular units (galleries) drawing heavily from archival information on BC History. Each gallery has a teacher guide and each is targeted for a specific grade range. This link is to a Women's Study unit which will allow Grade 11 students to learn more about Sylvia Stark, Catherine Schubert, Hannah Maynard, Emily Carr, and Judge Helen MacGill.

Canada Heirloom Series: Volumes IV, V and VI

The Canada Heirloom Series contains several hundred biographical profiles on famous Canadians organized under the headings of "Pathfinders", "Wayfarers", and "Visionaries".

Canadian Air Aces and Heroes

Articles on about a dozen Canadian air aces from WWI, WWII, and the Korean War.

Canadian Celebrities

Brief notes primarily about Canadian entertainers, organized under: Actors and Comedians, Actresses and Comediennes, Musicians, and Other Professions.

Canadian Inventions and Inventors

This database of Canadian inventions and inventors can be browsed by category of the invention, province where it was invented, or name of inventor (separated by gender).

[The] Canadian Literature Archive

The Canadian Literature Archive is a project of the English Department of the University of Manitoba. This site offers a meta-list of links to sites with information about Canadian writers and in many cases to their specific, individual works. Hundreds of authors are organized alphabetically. There are also links to other literary organizations that may also have biographical data.

Canadian Music Encyclopedia

"Written by Toronto-based music writer Jaimie Vernon, this Jam! Music database chronicles, by artist, the history of Canadian contemporary music from the 1950s to the present. Every entry includes an extensive artist and/or band biography as well as a comprehensive discography." Links to further information and to photographs may also be available.

Canadian Poets

This University of Toronto site profiles over 50 contemporary Canadian poets under the following headings: Biography, Poems, Writing Philosophy, Published Works and Other Information. They also have a section for 19th century poets but the information does not follow the same format.

Canadian Portraits

Photographs from the National Archives of Canada on famous Canadians organized in the following headings: Canadian Government, Canadian Men, Canadian Women, Canadian Prime Ministers, Explorers & Military Figures, Employment in Canada, Governors General, and Immigrants & Aboriginal People of Canada. A brief biographical sketch accompanies each photo.

Canadian Prime Ministers: Biographies

Canadian Prime Ministers from 1867 to Date.

Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame

The lives of about 25 Canadian scientists are briefly described as though the scientists were writing about themselves.

Canadian Sculpture: Coming of Age

Learn more about early 20th century Canadian sculpture by browsing through profiles and pictures of 15 founders of the Sculptors' Society of Canada (SSC). Click on "?Artists" at the bottom of the page for entry to that section of the site. If you want to learn more about any of the sculptors, there are images of hundreds of examples of their works available in the "Database" option. Caution: your monitor setting must be at least 800 * 600 to view the web site.

Canadian Who's Who on the World Wide Web

An online version (with some differences) of the CD version of this biological reference. A search option provides access to the 15,000 item database by name, birthdate, birthyear and city. There's also a Birthday feature which pulls out the biographies of those famous Canadians born on this day, the previous day, and the following day.

[A] Celebration of Women Writers: Writers from Canada

Links to information on about 200 Canadian women writers. Some links go to home pages dedicated to the author, some links go to external sites with brief articles/biographies, and some links are to a biography of the author on this site itself. As such, the quality and quantity of the information will vary. In some cases, there are links to information about specific works from the writer in addition to (or instead of) information about the author herself.

Cool Women

Profiles of a 'Cool Woman or an event affecting women in Canada' from Beth Atcheson, Martha Russell, Pat Statton & Nancy Ruth of Toronto. There are over 50 biographies of famous Canadian women, some of which also have links to related resources.

Discoverer's Web

Within this extensive site covering voyages of discovery and exploration world-wide, you'll find links to information on Canada's early explorers.

Distinguished Women of Past and Present

This site has links to information about famous women from many different nations including Canada. Links are organized alphabetically by last name or by field of study. This resources will be most useful if you already know the name of the woman you're looking for; however, the alphabetical index provides the country of origin so it is possible to browse the site as well. Links go to information on external sites so the quality of the resources will vary.

The Best Source for Canadian Science

Profiles of 20 Canadian scientists including pictures and information from the people themselves. This Simon Fraser project also has brief biographical sketches on 150 other Canadian scientist in their Reference Section.

Learning Space (LS): Women's Studies Research Lessons

One of the ways to integrate the Internet into your classroom is by using it as a source of current curricular information. Having students conduct research on the WWW is an effective and relevant learning activity but teachers may feel at a loss as to what kind of questions students should be given to research. This site contains two intermediate level research lessons (Focus on Women and Women in History) which pose motivating, genuine problems or open-ended real life problems whose solutions and answers are not easily found. They are easily adaptable to the Canadian scene and to the broader topic of Famous Canadians.

National Library of Canada

Click on the above button to check out the full contents of the NLC, or go directly to the following resources.

• Celebrating Women's Achievements "Each year the National Library celebrates Women's History Month in Canada by honouring the contributions of Canadian women in developing Canada. A brief biographical sketch highlights each woman's life and achievements. This is followed by a list of suggested readings or works. "
  
• Fathers of Confederation Biographical sketches of Sir John Alexander Macdonald, Sir Georges-Étienne Cartier, George Brown, Sir Charles Tupper, and Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt
  
• Heroes of Lore and Yore: Canadian Heroes in Fact and Fiction About a dozen brief biographical sketches plus bibliographies and links to further information on famous Canadians organized in the following categories: Pursuit of Excellence, We are the Land, Voices of the People, and the Mythmakers.

[The] Northwest Connection: Gallery of Native Art

This BC art gallery offers a wide variety of information about Northwest Coastal art and artists. In addition to profiles on native artists (including pictures of their work) organized by genre, there are articles providing background information. Caution: the text may be difficult to read.

On This Day

Ottawa Researchers provides the information for this page in Sympatico News containing biographical descriptions of famous Canadians born 'on this day.'

Prime Minister of Canada

This information unit for high school teachers is an online resource that will aid students in their exploration of the role of the Prime Minister. It covers not only leading the Government of Canada, but how to set the political agenda at large, and what it means.

Wayfarers Canadian Achievers: Alphabetical Listing

Biographies of about 100 Canadian individuals. There's also a section on Canadian corporations.

Well Known People Who Happen to be Canadian

Biographical sketches. People are organized under the headings: Actors, Actresses, Artists, Astronauts, Athletes, Authors, Business People, Comedians, Directors/Producers, Entertainers, Journalists, Miscellaneous, Musicians, and Scientists. Check out the link "More Canadians" at the bottom of their home page for a second set of links under many of the same categories as their main page.

Women Artists in Canada

Information on over 100 Canadian women artists active in such disciplines as ceramics, computer arts, fibre arts, glass and jewelry making, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and video, to name but some. Note the information is presented in English or French depending on the language of the artist.

Women in [Canadian] History

Biographical sketches of over 30 Canadian women.

Note: The sites listed above will serve as a source of curricular content on Famous Canadians. For other resources in Social Studies (e.g., curricular content, lesson plans and theme pages, click the "previous screen" button below. Or, click here if you wish to return directly to the CLN menu which will give you access to educational resources in all of our subjects.