Skip to main content
Ingenium Logo

You are leaving IngeniumCanada.org

✖


This link leads to an external website that Ingenium does not control. Please read the third-party’s privacy policies before entering personal information or conducting a transaction on their site.

Have questions? Review our Privacy Statement

Vous quittez IngeniumCanada.org

✖


Ce lien mène à un site Web externe qu'Ingenium ne contrôle pas. Veuillez lire les politiques de confidentialité des tiers avant de partager des renseignements personnels ou d'effectuer une transaction sur leur site.

Questions? Consultez notre Énoncé de confidentialité

Ingenium The Channel

Langue

  • Français
Search Toggle

Menu des liens rapides

  • Ingenium Locations
  • Shop
  • Donate
  • Join
Menu

Main Navigation

  • Browse
    • Categories
    • Media Types
    • Boards
    • Featured Stories
  • About
    • About The Channel
    • Content Partners

Laying the foundations for mapping Canada

This article was originally written and submitted as part of a Canada 150 Project, the Innovation Storybook, to crowdsource stories of Canadian innovation with partners across Canada. The content has since been migrated to Ingenium’s Channel, a digital hub featuring curated content related to science, technology and innovation.

Share
Feb 26, 2016
Categories
Road Transportation
Media
Article
Profile picture for user Algonquin College
By: Algonquin college
Sir William Logan founded the Geographical Survey of Canada. His work laid the foundation for mapping the entire country. Source: Library and Archives Canada.
Sir William Logan founded the Geographical Survey of Canada. His work laid the foundation for mapping the entire country. Source: Library and Archives Canada.

Molly Gatt

Algonquin College Journalism Program

Sir William Logan discovered his skill at mapping out of necessity. Born in Montreal to Scottish parents, he was sent to Edinburg to get the best education possible at only 16. But despite his high marks, Logan dropped out of university at the end of his first year to take a job at his uncle’s business.

He started as an accountant, but when opportunity struck in 1831, Logan took on a management position at a coal and copper mine in Wales. Logan realized all the efforts were pointless if the miners weren’t constantly finding minerals. He took it upon himself to make detailed and extensive maps of South Wales. Logan did this by making field observations, taking information from miners and drill cores and the use of a compass and theodolite. In 1835 the Geological Survey of Great Britain was founded and they adopted Logan’s work.

Logan worked for his uncle’s company for over 20 years and continued mapping the South of Wales until an opportunity in Canada presented itself. Canada needed a geographical survey and Logan was ready for the job. He moved back to his hometown of Montreal and set up the first building for the Geological Survey of Canada in 1843.

That year, Logan and his team surveyed the Gaspé Peninsula. Followed by the Canadian Shield, Timiskaming, Ottawa and Lake Superior regions. Logan worked hard for his position. He spent half his time traveling the country mapping and the other half traveling internationally to promote the GSC. With his team, he laid the foundation for mapping the rest of Canada. Logan worked until his death in 1875. He was inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame in 1992.

The Geographical Survey of Canada, located in Ottawa. William Logan set up the Survey’s first building in 1843.

Tags
Innovation Storybook
Author(s)
Profile picture for user Algonquin College
Algonquin college
Follow

Algonquin’s organizational philosophy is defined by its mission, vision and core values. The following are intended to serve as points of inspiration, carefully articulating our purpose

Mission: To transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success.

Vision: To be a global leader in personalized, digitally connected, experiential learning.

Our values: Caring, Integrity, Learning, Respect

https://www.algonquincollege.com/

More Stories by

Profile picture for user Algonquin College
Algonquin college
E.W.R. (Ned) Steacie.

Chemist’s war-time research leads to discovery

Related Stories

The Loman 225 all-terrain vehicle on display at the Salon camping, chasse et pêche 73, Montréal, Québec. Anon., “Pédalo ‘Fun Cycle’ – Une réponse à un rêve…” La Patrie, 1 April 1973, 23.

Four wheels for all seasons: The all-terrain vehicles of Loman Incorporée of Richelieu, Québec

Aerial photograph of General Motors’ Oshawa facilities.

Learning from Experience: Why We Need Oral Histories

A woman examining a bottle of olive oil in a grocery store, Gravel terrain in beige with boulders identified in pink, craters in purple, and crater rims in turquoise, A close up of the tread of a winter tire showing deep, wide, jagged grooves and wavy sipes.

3 things you should know about food fraud, how winter tires work and Canadian artificial intelligence headed for the Moon.

Front cover of GM Canada’s Expo 86 pamphlet with wording “IN MOTION…IN TOUCH” displayed in large capital letters.

Re-examining Archival Research Following the COVID-19 Pandemic

A photo of Unifor Local 222’s meeting hall.

What Counts as History? Top-Down Versus Bottom-Up Agency

This photograph shows an assortment of Unifor Local 222 ephemera. It includes Patrick J. Brown’s 1937 United Autoworkers of America Local 222 union membership card and an assortment of union buttons from the 1970s to the 1980s that advocate for increased job security, shorter work weeks, and the rights of retired General Motors employees.

Community, Camaraderie, and Producing Historical Scholarship

A typical advertisement of the Bamboo Cycle Company Limited of London, England. Anon., “Bamboo Cycle Company Limited.” The Graphic, 31 July 1897, 179.

“Should anyone be in doubt my advice is Buy a Bamboo:” A few pages on Bamboo Cycle Company Limited of London, England

Advertisement for the Isetta manufactured by Isetta of Great Britain Limited. Anon., “City Motors Limited.” The Gazette, 21 November 1957, 2.

A look under the hood of one of the symbols of the West German economic miracle of the 1950s; or, The multifaceted and multinational tale of the Isetta microcar, part 2

A typical BMW 250 or 300. Devon Francis, “What you get in the foreign economy cars.” Popular Science, June 1957, 62.

A look under the hood of one of the symbols of the West German economic miracle of the 1950s; or, The multifaceted and multinational tale of the Isetta microcar, part 1

A Volvo P1800 comparable to the one driven by Simon Templar, also known as the Saint, a character played on television by Roger George Moore, Volvo Museum, Göteborg, Sweden, 2008. Jarle Vines via Wikimedia.

A saintly automobile from the land of “Pippi” Longstocking and Lisbeth Salander: The Swedish Volvo P1800 grand tourer / sports car, part 2

A typical Volvo P1800 grand tourer / sports car. Anon., “La plus belle auto.” La Patrie du Dimanche, 25 March 1962, 11.

A saintly automobile from the land of “Pippi” Longstocking and Lisbeth Salander: The Swedish Volvo P1800 grand tourer / sports car, part 1

The Lincoln Continental 1950X / Ford X-100 laboratory on wheels. Anon., “La Ford de l’avenir.” Photo-Journal, 28 February 1952, 8.

The car of tomorrow as imagined 70 years ago: The Lincoln Continental 1950X / Ford X-100 laboratory on wheels

Footer

About The Channel

The Channel

Contact Us

Ingenium
P.O. Box 9724, Station T
Ottawa ON K1G 5A3
Canada

613-991-3044
1-866-442-4416
contact@IngeniumCanada.org
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Channel

    • Channel Home
    • About the Channel
    • Content Partners
  • Visit

    • Online Resources for Science at Home
    • Canada Agriculture and Food Museum
    • Canada Aviation and Space Museum
    • Canada Science and Technology Museum
    • Ingenium Centre
  • Ingenium

    • Ingenium Home
    • About Ingenium
    • The Foundation
  • For Media

    • Newsroom
    • Awards

Connect with us

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest Ingenium news straight to your inbox!

Sign Up

Legal Bits

Ingenium Privacy Statement

© 2023 Ingenium

Symbol of the Government of Canada
  • Browse
    • Categories
    • Media Types
    • Boards
    • Featured Stories
  • About
    • About The Channel
    • Content Partners