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Joseph Burr Tyrrell, geologist, explorer, historian (b at Weston, Canada West 1 Nov 1858; d at Toronto 26 Aug 1957). Tyrrell explored the vast areas of western and northern Canada, consolidating information gathered by earlier explorers and filling in blank spots on the maps, especially in the Northwest Territories, while working for 17 years for the GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA (1881-98). He explored the DUBAWNT and THELON rivers to CHESTERFIELD INLET under considerable hardship, discovered the rich DINOSAUR beds of southern Alberta and important coal beds at Drumheller, Alta, and Fernie, BC, and added knowledge to the geography, botany, entomology, mammalogy and ornithology of many regions. He later became a mining consultant, and then a miner in the KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH and in northern Ontario, eventually acquiring considerable wealth.
Highly regarded both in the field and by government officials in Ottawa and Toronto, he was also involved in several historical publications, most notably in editing the diaries of Samuel HEARNE and David THOMPSON. He was president of the CHAMPLAIN SOCIETY and received many honours, including the Royal Society of Canada's Flavelle Gold Medal. Several physical features and at least one community bear his name; the establishment of the ROYAL TYRRELL MUSEUM OF PALAEONTOLOGY at Drumheller (1985) provides an impressive monument to his discoveries a century earlier.
 Tyrrell, Joseph B.Joseph Tyrrell was a new breed of explorer, a wilderness traveller who was also a scientist (courtesy Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library).
Author
MARTIN K. MCNICHOLL
Suggested Reading
A. Inglis, Northern Vagabond: The Life and Career of J.B. Tyrrell (1978); W.J. Loudon, A Canadian Geologist (1930).
Links to Other Sites
Royal Tyrrell Museum
The Royal Tyrrell Museum, Alberta's renowned palaeontology museum and research facility, invites visitors on a virtual journey through geological time. View toothsome dinosaurs and other fossilized life forms.
Tyrrell
Historica’s acclaimed one-minute movies about Canadian history.
The Barren Lands
This site documents two exploratory surveys of the Barren Lands region west of Hudson Bay, in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan and the area now known as Nunavut. A very extensive digital collection of documents, photographs, maps and more. From the University of Toronto.
Yukon Photographers: The Gold Rush Era, 1897-1900
This Virtual Museum website profiles the photographers who chronicled the hardy people and harsh conditions of the Klondike gold rush in the Yukon.
Canadian Mining Hall of Fame
The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame honours notable leaders, prospectors, and pioneers who made significant contributions to the mining industry in Canada.
Tyrrell and Albertosaurus
This article unearths some fascinating details about Joseph Burr Tyrrell’s geological expeditions in western Canada. Part of the “Past lives: Chronicles of Canadian Paleontology” series from the Geological Survey of Canada.
Trailblazer: Joseph Burr Tyrrell
A brief biography of Joseph Burr Tyrrell, famed geologist, cartographer, and mining consultant. From Natural Resources Canada.
J.B. Tyrrell Historical Medal
The Royal Society of Canada awards the J.B. Tyrrell Historical Medal in recognition of outstanding work in the history of Canada. Their website features brief profiles of previous medal winners. J.B. Tyrrell was a renowned geologist, geographer, explorer, engineer, and amateur historian.
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