Joseph Burr Tyrrell, FRSC (November 1, 1858 – August 26, 1957) 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, cartographer, mining consultant and historian. He discovered

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

(''Albertosaurus sarcophagus'') bones in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

's Badlands and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

around Drumheller in 1884. Canada's Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Alberta was named in his honour. Tyrrell was born in

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, the fifth child of William and Elizabeth Tyrrell. He was the brother of Canadian explorer and author James William Tyrrell. He was a student at Weston Grammar School before graduating from Upper Canada College in 1876 and receiving a law degree from 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 ...

in 1880. After articling for a law firm in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, his doctor advised him to work outdoors due to his health. He joined the

Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; , CGC) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the environment. A branch of the Earth Science ...

in 1880, leading or participating in numerous explorations. He published two books in 1888: ''A Brief Narrative of the Journeys of David Thompson'' and ''The Mammalia of Canada''. He led the 1893 and 1894 expeditions into the Northern Barren Lands, down the Dubawnt River, the first visit to the

Kivalliq Region The Kivalliq Region (; Inuktitut syllabics: ᑭᕙᓪᓕᖅ) is an Region, administrative List of regions of Nunavut, region of Nunavut, Canada. It consists of the portion of the mainland to the west of Hudson Bay together with Southampton Island ...

Barrenlands by a European since the explorations of Samuel Hearne in the 1770s. Joseph's younger brother, James William Tyrrell, accompanied him on the expedition, which included the first European contact with the Ihalmiut,

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

from the interior of what is today

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

. Tyrrell married Mary Edith Carey in 1894. They had three children: Mary (born 1896), George (born 1900), and Thomas (born 1906). Mary Edith was the founder and first president in 1921 of the Women's Association of the Mining Industry of Canada. In 1894, Tyrrell stumbled upon biographical recollections (11 books of field notes, 39 journals, maps, and a narrative) of Canadian overland explorer, cartographer, and fur trader David Thompson and, in 1916, published them as ''David Thompson's Narrative''. Tyrrell went into the gold-mining business in 1898, a career that would last more than 50 years. In his work he published several books on gold fields. In 1912 he published ''The Law of the Pay-streak in Placer Deposits''. He was the mine manager of the

Kirkland Lake Kirkland Lake is a town and municipality in Timiskaming District, Ontario, Timiskaming District of Northeastern Ontario. The 2021 population, according to Statistics Canada, was 7,750. The community name was based on a nearby lake which in turn ...

Gold Mine in northern Ontario for many years starting in 1926. Tyrrell retired to northeast

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

on the Rouge River, where he established substantial apple orchards and an interest in

grafting Grafting or graftage is a horticulture, horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the roots ...

and breeding. The expanded orchards, later managed by his son George, are now the site of the Toronto Zoo. He died in Toronto in 1957 at the age of 98.

Honours and awards

Places named for Tyrrell

* Tyrrell Sea (prehistoric

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

) * Tyrrell Arm, the east section of Yathkyed Lake, Nunavut * Joseph Burr Tyrrell Park, Toronto, Ontario * Tyrrell Lake, a small alkali lake near Warner, Alberta.

Institutions named for Tyrrell

* Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller,

* J. B. Tyrrell Senior Public School in

* Joseph Burr Tyrrell Elementary School in Fort Smith,

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

Awards

* 1896 Back Award, Royal Geographical Society * 1918 Murchison Medal,

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 ...

* 1929 Honorary President, Royal Canadian Geographical Society * 1930 Daly Medal from the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are United States, Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows f ...

* 1933 Flavelle Medal,

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 ...

* 1947 Wollaston Medal, Geological Society of London * 1954 Professional Engineer's Medal from the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario * 1997 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Joseph B

Other honours

* J.B. Tyrrell Historical Medal, Royal Society of Canada.

Tribute

On 1 November 2018, Google Doodle commemorated his 160th birthday.

References

External links

Royal Tyrrell Museum website

Scientist of the Day-Joseph Burr Tyrrell
at Linda Hall Library * *
The History of the Geological Survey of Canada in 175 Objects
'
Joseph Burr Tyrrell
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

Historica’s Heritage Minute video docudrama about Joseph Tyrrell.
(

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.)
Joseph Burr Tyrrell Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
*

' {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrrell, Joseph 1858 births 1957 deaths Burials at Toronto Necropolis Canadian geologists Canadian paleontologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Geological Survey of Canada personnel Paleontology in Ontario People from Kirkland Lake People from Weston, Toronto Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) University of Toronto alumni Upper Canada College alumni Wollaston Medal winners