Arthur Philemon Coleman (April 4, 1852 – February 26, 1939) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

and academic.

Biography

Born in

Lachute Lachute () is a town in southwest Quebec, Canada, northwest of Montreal, on the Rivière du Nord (Laurentides), Rivière du Nord, a tributary of the Ottawa River, and west of Mirabel International Airport, the Mirabel International Airport. It i ...

, Canada East, the son of Francis Coleman (an ordained minister) and Emmeline Maria Adams, he received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1876 and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1880 from Victoria College in

Cobourg, Ontario Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County, Ontario, Northumberla ...

. He received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

in 1881. Coleman joined the department of geology and natural history at Victoria College in 1882 as a professor. From 1891 to 1901, he was a professor of geology at the School of Practical Science in Toronto. From 1893 to 1909, he was a geologist at the Bureau of Mines of the

Government of Ontario The Government of Ontario () is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The term ''Government of Ontario'' refers specifically to the executive—political Minister ...

. From 1901 to 1922, he was a professor of geology at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and was Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1919 to 1922. From 1931 to 1934, he was a geologist with the Department of Mines of the Government of Ontario. In 1886, Coleman was the first to describe one of the most important (both scientifically and historically) and largest meteorites to ever fall in Canada. This 145 kg iron–nickel meteorite, likely the differentiated centre of a failed protoplanet, is called the Manitou Asinîy, Creator's Stone, or Iron Creek meteorite. In 1898, Coleman led a field expedition with the intent of surveying resources, along with the Geologist

George Mercer Dawson George Mercer Dawson (August 1, 1849 – March 2, 1901) was a Canadian geologist and surveyor. He performed many early explorations in western North America and compiled numerous records of the native peoples. Biography He was born in ...

and the famed anarchist,

Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist and geographer known as a proponent of anarchist communism. Born into an aristocratic land-owning family, Kropotkin attended the Page Corps and later s ...

. Kropotkin gave his credit to Coleman, writing he was "well acquainted with the mining region of Central Canada." In 1907, Coleman inferred a "lower Huronian ice age" from analysis of a geological formation near

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

. Coleman was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

in 1900 and was its president in 1921. He was awarded the

Murchison Medal The Murchison Medal is an academic award established by Roderick Murchison, who died in 1871. First awarded in 1873, it is normally given to people who have made a significant contribution to geology by means of a substantial body of research an ...

of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

in 1910 and in 1928 was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's

Flavelle Medal The Flavelle Medal is an award of the Royal Society of Canada "for an outstanding contribution to biological science during the preceding ten years or for significant additions to a previous outstanding contribution to biological science". It is n ...

. In 1902, he was elected President of the

Royal Canadian Institute The Royal Canadian Institute for Science (RCIScience), known also as the Royal Canadian Institute, is a Canadian nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting the public with Canadian science. History The organization was formed in Toronto as t ...

and in 1910, he was made a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. In 1915, he was President of the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hi ...

. In 1929, he was appointed Honorary Vice-President of the

Royal Canadian Geographical Society The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS; French: ''Société géographique royale du Canada'') is a Canadian nonprofit educational organization. It has dedicated itself to spreading a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada, i ...

. He was author of: * ''Reports on the Economic

Geology of Ontario The geology of Ontario is the study of rock formations in the most populated province in Canada- it is home to some of the oldest rock on Earth. The geology in Ontario consists of ancient Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rock which sits under ...

'' (1903)
''Lake Ojibway; Last of the Great Glacial Lakes''
(1909)
''The Canadian Rockies: New and Old Trails''
(1911)
''Ice Ages, Recent and Ancient''
(1926), and was co-author of ''Elementary Geology'' (1922). * ''The Last Million Years'' (1941) Edited by George F. Kay * ''A meteorite from the northwest'' (1886) He achieved the first ascent of

Castle Mountain Castle Mountain () is a mountain located within Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, approximately halfway between Banff and Lake Louise. It is the easternmost mountain of the Main Ranges in the Bow Valley and sits astride the Castl ...

in 1884, and in 1907, he was the first white man to attempt to climb

Mount Robson Mount Robson is the most prominent mountain in North America's Rocky Mountain range; it is also the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. The mountain is located entirely within Mount Robson Provincial Park of British Columbia, and is part of ...

. He made a total of eight exploratory trips to the Canadian Rockies, wholly four of them looking for the mythical giant mountains

Hooker and Brown Hooker and Brown are two mythical mountains, once reputed to lie on the great Divide of the Canadian Rockies in Jasper National Park, bordering the Athabasca Pass, the old passage for the fur trade. These two peaks were reputed to be the highest mo ...

. Coleman was awarded the

Penrose Medal The Penrose Medal was created in 1925 by R.A.F. Penrose, Jr., as the top prize awarded by the Geological Society of America. Originally created as the Geological Society of America Medal it was soon renamed the Penrose Medal by popular assent of ...

of the Geological Society of America in 1936. His younger half-sister was poet

Helena Coleman Helena Coleman (April 27, 1860 – December 7, 1953) was a Canadian poet, music teacher, and writer. Early life Helena Jane Coleman was born on April 27, 1860 in Newcastle, Ontario, to the Rev. Francis Coleman, a Methodist minister,John William ...

; the two shared a home in Toronto for much of their adult lives.

Legacy

Mount Coleman and Coleman Glacier in

Banff National Park Banff National Park is Canada, Canada's first National Parks of Canada, national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous ter ...

are named in his honour. Lake Coleman, a lake with a higher water level, in the same basin as

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

, is named in Coleman's memory. The lake, like Lake Iroquois and

Lake Scarborough Lake Scarborough is a lake located northwest of Coleman, Texas. The lake is situated east of U.S. Route 84 and west of U.S. Route 283. References Lakes of Texas {{US-lake-stub Bodies of water of Coleman County, Texas ...

, is a product of the melting and drainage of the Laurentide ice sheet.

References

Bibliography

The Arthur P. Coleman Collection at the Victoria University Library at the University of Toronto
*
A.P. Coleman: Geologist, Explorer (1852 – 1939) – Science, Art & Discovery, a Virtual Exhibit

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Arthur Philemon 1852 births 1939 deaths Academic staff of the University of Toronto Canadian geologists Canadian university and college faculty deans Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Penrose Medal winners People from Lachute Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society University of Breslau alumni University of Toronto alumni Victoria Medal recipients