William Kirby 1817-1906
Born in England, Kirby came to Canada in 1839 and began work as a tanner in the vicinity of Niagara-on-the-Lake. There he developed his literary talents and soon after moving into the town in 1848 embarked on a long and prolific career as a journalist and writer. Keenly aware of the region's past, he celebrated its traditions in poetry and a history, Annals of Niagara (1896), but it was his interest in French Canadian legends which inspired his most famous work The Golden Dog (1877). The novel made him a national figure and in 1882 he became an original Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Ontario Plaques. Full page here.