Sandford Fleming

Sir Sandford Fleming (1827-1915)

surveyor, engineer, inventor of standard time zones
Fleming was born on July 7, 1827, probably in Kirkaldy, Fife, Scotland
emigrated to Quebec on the ship "Brilliant," leaving Glasgow, Scotland, on April 24, 1845, at age 17 years.
lived in Montreal, Ottawa, and Halifax
came to Canada as a surveyor, and later became one of the foremost railway engineers of his time
in charge of the initial survey for the Canadian Pacific Railway, the first Canadian railway to span the continent.
the problems of coordinating such a long railway lead him to the idea of time zones
his contribution to the adoption of the present system of time zones earned him the title of "Father of Standard Time"
was knighted in 1897 on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee
served as Chancellor of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario
Sir Sandford Fleming College, with campuses in many Ontario locations, was named in his honour
died in Halifax in 1915
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