Sir Sandford Fleming 1827-1915

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 (1863-76) 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 the 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 standard time. He died in Halifax.