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John By

Builder of the Rideau Canal · 1779-1836

Built the canal that founded Ottawa and was hauled home to answer for the cost.

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Life story

1. August 7, 1779 · England
   Born at Lambeth in London
2. September 1826 · Ottawa
   Arrived to begin the canal and laid out the settlement called Bytown
3. May 1832 · Ottawa
   Opened 202 kilometres of canal with 47 locks, built largely by Irish and French Canadian labourers
4. 1832 · England
   Recalled to London and investigated over the overspend; he was never formally cleared
5. February 1, 1836 · England
   Died in Sussex; Bytown was renamed Ottawa twenty years later

In the timeline

• 1832 — The Rideau Canal opens

Sources

• Wikipedia article: John By
• Dictionary of Canadian Biography
• The Canadian Encyclopedia