Fleming, Sir Sandford National Historic Person
Ottawa, Ontario
Sir Sandford Fleming
© Expired
Address :
Observatory Lane, Ottawa, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1950-05-31
Life Date:
1827 to 1915
Other Name(s):
-
Fleming, Sir Sandford
(Designation Name)
Importance:
Railway survey and construction engineer, advocate of Standard Time
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: Dominion Observatory, Central Experimental Farm Observatory Lane, Ottawa, Ontario
Engineer and an ardent imperialist, Fleming was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. In 1845 he came to Canada, where he became survey and construction engineer for the Intercolonial Railway (1836- 76) and the Canadian Pacific (1871- 80). He foresaw the day when the technologies of steam and electricity would make Canada a great nation within the Empire, and to this end advocated the laying of the Pacific cable as a link in a globe-circling imperial network. A man of wide interests, Fleming designed the first Canadian postage stamp, in 1851, and was an early champion of the idea of standart time. He died in Halifax.