On September 9, 1953, Canadian military officer Major Deanna (Dee) Marie Brasseur was born. Brasseur and corps colleague Captain Jane Foster were the first two female fighter pilots in the Canadian Armed Forces. This also made them the first two female fighter pilots in…
On September 3, 1874, Norwegian mathematician and geophysicist Fredrik Carl Mülertz Størmer was born. Although he investigated several astrophysical phenomena during his lifetime such as meteor trails and solar corona, Størmer was particularly involved in the study of the polar auroras. The aurora phenomena…
On August 30, 1935, marine biologist and oceanographer Sylvia Alice Earle was born. She has spent four decades of undersea exploration and has led underwater research expeditions not only for oceanographic research societies but also for investigations into oil spill impact. Serving a term…
On July 28, 1635, microscopist, astronomer, architect, Robert Hooke was born. As a student, Hooke was at ease in his studies of art, languages, music, and mathematics. At Oxford, he met and entered into creative friendships with his professors and peers in various sciences.…
On July 25, 1920, biophysicist, crystallographer, and pioneer molecular biologist Rosalind Elsie Franklin was born. She studied natural sciences at Newnham College, Cambridge. Pursuing graduate studies but wishing to contribute to a national effort, Franklin joined the British Coal Utilization Research Association, measuring and…
On July 18, 1720, English naturalist Gilbert White was born. A country cleric, White systematically recorded careful and detailed observations of all Nature in his surroundings. He experimented with different plants from flowers to potatoes to fruit trees in his garden that is still…
On July 16, 1981, Yoho National Park’s Burgess Shale became Canada’s fifth World Heritage Site of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Within Yoho National Park of Canada, the Burgess Shale holds the deposit of one of world’s most ancient marine…
On July 14, 1862, geologist Florence Bascom was born. As a youngster, she accompanied her father and his university associates on field trips and was hooked on geology after an early trip to Mammoth Cave. Advancing through school and into university, Bascom became interested…
On July 1, 1867, Canada became a country. Originally called the Dominion of Canada, it started with four provinces – Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the former Province of Canada split into Quebec and Ontario. This confederation had taken some years to achieve for…
On June 10, 1834, naturalist Charles Darwin passed through the “East and West Furies”, the Tower Rocks, to reach the open waters of the Pacific Ocean aboard HMS Beagle. HMS Beagle was, to its time, as modern and science-packed as any space station. Its…