Champions By Type

Virnetta was born Virnetta Nelson in Monticello, Arkansas in 1920. Her schooling was in Arkansas and California. Virnetta was a woman of action - known for committing time and providing…

Drive and determination are just two of the words used to describe the first Canadian Prime Minister from Alberta. At a young age, Bennett created lofty goals for himself: to…

David (Dave) Ernest Black was born in 1880 in Westport, Ontario, where he attended school and subsequently studied watch making. He moved to Calgary, Alberta in 1903, on board the…

(to be recognized collaboratively with Michael Green) Narcisse Blood (Tatsikiistamik) was a Blackfoot/Niitsitapi Traditional Spiritual Elder who was passionate about preserving and sharing traditional Blackfoot spiritual ways and cultural heritage…

Patrick Burns was born in Oshawa, Ontario as the fourth of eleven children, where he grew up with little education in humble conditions. Pat Burns headed out west with his…

Wilfred Arthur Charles "Wilf" Carter was born in Port Hilford, Nova Scotia in 1904, one of nine children. After seeing a traveling show named "The Yodelling Fool" as a youth,…

Clara Christie was born in Winchester, Ontario, in 1895 and her family moved to Calgary in 1903. After a four month course at Calgary Normal School at age 20, Clara…

“Martha Cohen, a warm Chinook wind who blazed bright crimson smiles across the clear Alberta Sky.” Martha Cohen was a tireless builder in Calgary’s cultural community. Born in Calgary, the…

David Crowchild was born to Mark Crowchild and Sarah Big Plume on the Tsuut'ina Reserve, where he had a significant influence. He loved horses, and in his younger years, he…

Crowfoot was a chief of theSiksika First Nation. His parents, Istowun-eh'pata (Packs a Knife) and Axkahp-say-pi (Attacked Towards Home), were Kainai. He was only five when his father was killed…

Growing up in the small-town of Faulconbridge, New South Wales, just west of Sydney, Australia, Gwen Davies would spend many of her early childhood days in and out of hospital…

  Haider Dhanani lived a life of service.  With a profound dedication to bridging cultural differences and to the well-being, settlement and upward mobility of newly arrived immigrants to Canada,…

Mary Dover was a dynamic and distinguished Calgarian, particularly known for her work with the military during World War II. Born the same day Alberta joined Confederation in 1905, Mary…

Robert Chambers Edwards was born on February 17, 1861 into a family of privilege in Scotland but was orphaned as a youth. He was raised by two aunts, and although…

Annie Gale was a British immigrant to Calgary in the early twentieth century who dove straight into community politics in order to make her city a better place to live,…

Ruth Gorman was born in Calgary, Alberta on February  14, 1914 to Colonel Mark Bennett and Fleda Pattyson Peacock.  Ruth, like her father became a lawyer, and was one of…

(to be recognized collaboratively with Narcisse Blood)   Michael Green was the Co-Artistic Director and a founding member of Calgary’s One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre and the Creator/Curator of the High Performance Rodeo. …

Eric Lafferty Harvie was born in Orillia, Ontario, but moved to Alberta as a youth. He was called to Alberta's legal bar in 1915. His legal career was interrupted when…

Born near Carstairs, Alberta, Harry was one of 8 children. With his brothers Tom and Jack he carried on his father's work with purebred Holsteins. Better quality and more milk…

Harley Hotchkiss was born in Tillsonburg, Ontario in 1927. A graduate of Michigan State University in 1951 and a geologist by trade, Hotchkiss moved to Calgary in 1951. He married…

William Roper Hull was born in England. He grew up in Dorset, but after his mother died, he moved to Canada in 1873 (at 17 years old) with his brother…

Alice Jamieson was born on July 14, 1860 in New York City to James Jukes and Isabel Duxbury, who were both born in England, and emigrated to the United States…

Dennis Kadatz was born to second- generation homesteaders in the Ellerslie area of South Edmonton, AB. He grew up as a farm kid, learning to drive a tractor and riding…

Sydney Kahanoff was born in Manitoba in 1922 and grew up in Saskatchewan. After graduating from high school in 1939, he joined the RCAF serving in the Aleutian Islands for…

Frank King was born in Redcliff, Alberta in 1936. He graduated from the University of Alberta in Chemical Engineering and spent most of his life living in Calgary where he was a…

Norman L. Kwong was a former professional football player, sport executive, commercial real estate executive and entrepreneurial businessman. He was a first-generation Chinese-Canadian, grew up in Calgary and graduated from…

Father Albert Lacombe was a very dedicated missionary with a great sense of adventure who brought the Christian message to Western Canada for over 65 years. Albert Lacombe was born…

Samuel Henry Harkwood Livingston was born in Ireland in 1831. As a young man he came to seek his fortune in America. After trying his luck at prospecting during the…

Edgar Peter Lougheed was born on July 26, 1928, at Calgary, Alberta, grandson of Alberta pioneer Sir James A. Lougheed. He was educated in Calgary public and secondary schools before…

James Lougheed was born in Brampton, Ontario to Irish Protestant parents. He grew up there, and went to school at the University of Toronto, obtaining a law degree in 1881…

  John Walter Grant MacEwan was born in Brandon, Manitoba, where he lived until he was thirteen when he moved with his family to a farm near Melfort, Saskatchewan. There,…

James Macleod was born in Scotland, and emigrated to Canada in 1845. He received his BA from Queen's in Ontario, and he began to practice law. However, his passion was…

At a very young age, Roderick was sent to China to learn the Chinese language and culture. Unable to return to Canada because of World War II, he spent his…

Ernest Charles Manning, PC, COC, AOE, was the eighth Premier of Alberta. A co-founder of the province's Social Credit party, he served between 1943 and 1968, longer than any premier…

Frederick Charles Mannix was born on October 21, 1913 in Edmonton, Alberta. His father was a construction pioneer from Manitoba who moved his contracting business to Edmonton in 1905 to…

 Charles (Chuck) Mawer was born in 1917 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and grew up with his 3 siblings in Edmonton, Vancouver, and Calgary. In 1936 Chuck started his business career as…

Beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend, entrepreneur and philanthropist, J.R. (Bud) McCaig, died peacefully while at his vacation home in Barbados on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 at the age of 75…

Nellie McClung is one of the most famous women's rights activists in Canadian history. Known for her dynamic and engaging public speeches and numerous books, she disarmed most audiences with…

Doug was born in Calgary, Alberta and raised in the city’s Crescent Heights neighbourhood. After high school, he attended Colorado College on a hockey scholarship and completed a Bachelor of…

W.O., the only Canadian writer known by his initials alone, was one of Canada's best loved story tellers. Who Has Seen the Wind has become the classic Canadian prairie novel…

Bob was born in England to Andrea and WC (DFC) Robert H. Niven. His father, a Canadian pilot serving with the RAF, was killed in action three months before Bob…

Peter Anthony Prince was born June 29, 1836 to an English speaking family, near Trois-Rivières Quebec. He was educated near Lindsay Ontario, and built his own hotel and lumber mill…

Maude (Keen) Riley grew up in Perth County, Ontario and became a teacher through the Ontario Normal School. Upon gaining her certification, she accepted a position to teach at Nose…

Arthur Smith, O.C., A.O.E, D.F.C, Order of Merit (Hungary), LLD (Hon.) was born and raised in Calgary, and moved to Turner Valley when he was sixteen to work in the…

(Photos Courtesy of University of Calgary) Joan Snyder was born in Eatonia, Saskatchewan, on February 20, 1932, to parents Calvin Snyder and Phoebe Wilson Snyder. Joan’s father endured hard times…

Ronald Donald Southern C.C., C.B.E., A.O.E., B. Sc., LL. D was born on July 25, 1930 in Calgary, Alberta. He was a proud Canadian who loved his Alberta roots. A…

"To the missionary who adopted him, he was George McLean; in Stoney language, he was known as Tatanga Mani; to the world he was Walking Buffalo." (Whyte Museum Blogspot 2011)…

Henry Wise Wood was born in Missouri in 1860 and in 1905 like many Americans moved to Alberta because of the availability of cheap land in Canada. He bought a wheat…

Gus Yaki, the renowned Calgary birder and naturalist, passed away in August 2020. Gus was an avid birder as a young man and he continued his self-education as a naturalist…