Generations of practical and ingenious Maritimers have given the word great things. Since the mid-nineteenth century, scientists have fanned out into the world from colleges and universities that are among the oldest in North America. Great Maritime Achievers in Science and Technology brings together the achievements of more than 30 of these trail-blazing scientists and inventors, many of whom gained national and international prominence in the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth. Among those profiled in the book are Grace Annie Lockhart, the first woman in the British Empire to earn a university science degree; Charles Fenerty, who discovered how to make paper out of wood; Abraham Gesner, who invented kerosene and fathered the petroleum industry; and others whose practical, yet creative minds helped change the course of Canada's scientific history.
"This illuminating little book is full of things you never knew about people you think you know... It also introduces you to people you might never have met... just plain fascinating, from beginning to end."
"One of the strengths of the book is in the personal details of these gifted men's and women's lives... very enjoyable."
"A welcome addition to the study of regional history in Atlantic Canada and contributes greatly to our understanding of the 19th and early 20th century's scientific breakthroughs in the Maritimes. It is hoped that a copy of Great Maritime Achievers will appear on bookshelves in all schools throughout the region."