The Canada Atlas

Learn / People who shaped Canada

Sandford Fleming

Engineer · 1827-1915

Sandford Fleming
John Wycliffe Lowes Forster · Public domain

Designed Canada's first stamp, surveyed the railway, and gave the world standard time zones.

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Life story

  1. January 7, 1827 · Kirkcaldy, Scotland
    Born at Kirkcaldy in Fife
  2. April 23, 1851 · Toronto
    Designed the Threepenny Beaver, the first Canadian postage stamp
  3. 1871 · Winnipeg
    Became engineer-in-chief of the Canadian Pacific survey
  4. February 8, 1879 · Toronto
    Proposed dividing the world into 24 standard time zones
  5. October 1884 · Washington, D.C.
    His system was adopted at the International Meridian Conference
  6. July 22, 1915 · Halifax
    Died in Halifax

Sources