Alexander Kennedy Isbister


Isbister, Alexander Kennedy
Alexander Kennedy Isbister, schoolmaster, explorer, lawyer (b at Cumberland House, Rupert's Land [Sask] June 1822; d at London, Eng 28 May 1883). A Métis whose maternal grandmother was Indian, Isbister explored the Mackenzie River basin (1838-42) while employed by the Hudson's Bay Compay. He published a much-quoted treatise on the geology of portions of the Arctic and northwestern North America. This included the first chromolithograph map produced in England (1855). In 1842 Isbister left for Britain to become a schoolmaster and barrister championing the rights of Métis and the country-born against the HBC monopoly. He willed a personal fortune and 5000 books to the University of Manitoba.

Author W.O. KUPSCH

0
0
Absolutely free, with over 40,000 articles in French and English, The Canadian Encyclopedia is the ultimate online resource for all things Canadian, from history, sports, arts, science, technology, and much, much more. Get started at www.TheCanadianEncyclopedia.com
Feature Articles
The Formation of the RCMP

The Dominion government's advertisement asked for volunteers "able to read and write either the English or French language" with "good antecedents" who were good horsemen...

INSIDE TCE

Gallery
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Interactive Resources
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
Canucklehead
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
Timeline
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
100 Greatest Events
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.