John Galt
Galt, John
John Galt, novelist, colonial promoter (b at Irvine, Scot 2 May 1779; d at Greenock, Scot 11 Apr 1839). While struggling to survive as a man of letters, Galt became involved with Canadian affairs, first as agent for those claiming losses in the WAR OF 1812, and subsequently (1824) as secretary of the board of directors of the CANADA CO.
He came to Upper Canada on several occasions, remaining 1826-29 as company superintendent and founding the town of GUELPH in 1827; the town of Galt (now CAMBRIDGE) was named after him. He had continual conflict with the directors and was eventually recalled and spent his last years in impoverished ill health. Galt's best-known fiction deals mainly with Scottish life, and his writings, except for his Autobiography (1833) and Literary Life (1834), show only a limited influence of his Canadian involvements. Two of his novels embody his idea of emigrants best suited to the US (Lawrie Todd, 1830) and Canada (Bogle Corbet, 1831).
Galt, John
Colonial promoter John Galt, painted by E. Hastings, engraved by T. Woolnoth (Courtesy Library and Archives Canada/C-7940).
Author J.M. BUMSTED
Links to Other Sites
Scottish Collections at Guelph
An extensive online collection of digitized copies of books and other works by Scottish-Canadian authors. Click on links to access lists of works by specific writers. Part of the Scottish Collections at Guelph, the University of Guelph Library.
John Galt
A biography of author and colonizer John Galt. From the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.
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