Famous Canadians
Canada has its share of illustrious citizen, both in the present and from the past. Canadian sons and daughters who have made their homeland proud are amongst the following:
Roberta Bondar was the first Canadian woman in space. She flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on Mission STS-42 in January of 1992. She was head of space medicine research after the mission, and is now a consultant and speaker.
The Seagram Company, Ltd. of Montreal is the world's largest distillery company. Joseph E. Seagram was the founder of the company, and after he died a company named the Distillers Corporation bought the Seagram Company as well as rights to its name. Sales skyrocketed and assured the company's success when the American prohibition ended just shortly after that. Some of the familiar products in the Seagram's line include Crown Royal whiskey, VO, Captain Morgan rum, Chivas Regal, and Seagram's Seven.
Samuel Cunard was the founder of the Cunard luxury ocean liner company, first transporting mail between Britain and North America, then passengers.
Guy Laliberte gave the world the creative and magically mesmerizing Cirque du Soleil.
William Cornelius Van Horne supervised the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Van Horne came onboard after the project was underway, but with his expertise impediments were overcome and the railway was completed. Van Horne was a naturalized citizen of Canada and in 1894 he was knighted.
Isadore Sharp founded the line of luxury hotels known as the Four Seasons. The first hotel was built in Toronto, Ontario.
Terry Fox of Winnipeg, Manitoba was a cancer patient who gained fame by running the Marathon of Hope, a coast to coast endeavour intended to raise money for cancer research. He didn't complete the race due to his illness, but he raised consciousnesses and money for cancer research.
Scott Abbott and Chris Haney invented the wildly popular board game Trivial Pursuit.
Peter Jennings, born in Toronto, Ontario, was host of ABC's World News Tonight.
Robert McNeil was co-host of the MacNeil/Lehrer Report from 1975 to 1995.
John Carter Callaghan was a cardiologist who helped develop the first cardiac pacemaker and who pioneered many important cardiac procedures.
Sir Frederick Banting helped discover insulin.
Lucy Maud Montgomery was the author of the still-popular Anne of Green Gables and its sequels, which tellthe fictional story of Anne Shirley. The books are about the trials and tribulations of an orphan mistakenly sent to a brother and sister for adoption, a couple who had requested a boy orphan to help on the farm. The books follow Anne as she grows to adulthood and then to middle age.