Sandford Fleming (7 January 1827 – 22 July 1915) was a Scottish-Canadian engineer and inventor. To communicate accurate time, he promoted worldwide standard time zones, a prime meridian, and a 24-hour clock, all of which contributed to the creation of Coordinated Universal Time. As well as designing the first postage stamp for Canada, he also conducted a great deal of land surveying and map-making work, engineered the majority of the Intercolonial Railway and the first several hundred kilometers of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was an original member of the Royal Society of Canada and founder of the Canadian Institute.
Life and Career
He was born on 7 January 1827, in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, and he immigrated to Canada with his family when he was a child.
Fleming received his education at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, and he later worked as a surveyor and engineer on a number of projects in Canada and the United States. In the 1850s, he was appointed as the Chief Engineer of the Northern Railway, and he played a key role in the construction of the first transcontinental railway in Canada.
In addition to his work on the railway, Fleming is also known for his efforts to standardize time. He proposed the adoption of a single, global system of standard time in the 1870s, and his ideas were eventually adopted by many countries around the world. He is also credited with helping to create the modern system of time zones.
Fleming died on 22 July 1915, at the age of 88. He is remembered as an important figure in the history of engineering and transportation, and his contributions to the development of standard time and the creation of the Canadian Pacific Railway have had a lasting impact on the world.
Award and Legacy
Sandford Fleming was a highly respected and influential figure in the fields of engineering and transportation, and he received several awards and accolades during his lifetime. Some of the awards that he received include:
- The Order of the Bath, which he was made a Companion of in 1895 for his contributions to the development of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
- The Order of St. Michael and St. George, which he was made a Companion of in 1900 for his contributions to the development of standard time.
- The Royal Society of Canada, which elected him as a Fellow in 1882 in recognition of his contributions to engineering and science.
Fleming’s legacy is most evident in the fields of engineering and transportation, where his work had a lasting impact. He is remembered as an important figure in the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and his contributions to the development of standard time are still felt today. In addition to his technical work, Fleming is also remembered as a humanitarian and a social reformer, and he is credited with helping to improve the lives of workers and indigenous communities in Canada.
On 7 January 2017, Google Doodle celebrated Sandford Fleming’s 190th Birthday.