Joseph Burr Tyrrell
Born in Weston, Ontario in 1858, he was the son of an Irish immigrant who was a successful builder. Tyrrell represented a new breed of explorer; a wilderness traveller who was also a scientist. He worked for The Geological Survey of Canada for 17 years from 1881- 1898 spending a great deal of time mapping the Northwest Territories.
His most famous discovery was of the first Dinosaur bones in the Badlands of Alberta, the largest find of its kind in North America to date.
He travelled up unmapped rivers to Fort Churchill and Dawson City, discovered coal deposits in Alberta and British Columbia and participated in the Klondike Gold Rush. He helped to develop many mines in Northern Ontario, including gold mines, and retired a wealthy man.
Later on in life he bought 600 acres of land for an apple orchard that is now the site of the Toronto Zoo. He died at 99 years of age in Toronto in 1957 having lived a full life, by any measure.
Born in Weston, Ontario in 1858, he was the son of an Irish immigrant who was a successful builder. Tyrrell represented a new breed of explorer; a wilderness traveller who was also a scientist. He worked for The Geological Survey of Canada for 17 years from 1881- 1898 spending a great deal of time mapping the Northwest Territories.
His most famous discovery was of the first Dinosaur bones in the Badlands of Alberta, the largest find of its kind in North America to date.
He travelled up unmapped rivers to Fort Churchill and Dawson City, discovered coal deposits in Alberta and British Columbia and participated in the Klondike Gold Rush. He helped to develop many mines in Northern Ontario, including gold mines, and retired a wealthy man.
Later on in life he bought 600 acres of land for an apple orchard that is now the site of the Toronto Zoo. He died at 99 years of age in Toronto in 1957 having lived a full life, by any measure.
