Lesson 3 of 3 · 4 min read
Canadian inventors and scientists have contributed major discoveries, from insulin and the telephone to the Canadarm and the BlackBerry.
Canadians have contributed many important inventions and scientific discoveries that changed everyday life around the world.
Sir Frederick Banting of Toronto and Charles Best discovered insulin, a hormone used to treat diabetes that has saved an estimated 16 million lives around the world.
Alexander Graham Bell hit on the idea of the telephone at his summer house in Canada. Decades later, Reginald Fessenden contributed to the invention of radio, sending the first wireless voice message in the world. More recently, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie of Research in Motion (RIM) became known for the BlackBerry.
Dr. Wilder Penfield was a pioneering brain surgeon at McGill University in Montreal, known as "the greatest living Canadian," and Dr. John A. Hopps invented the first cardiac pacemaker, a device that has saved countless lives.
Joseph-Armand Bombardier invented the snowmobile, a light-weight winter vehicle well suited to Canada's climate. Sir Sandford Fleming invented the world system of standard time zones, a system still used globally today. Mathew Evans and Henry Woodward together invented the first electric light bulb and later sold the patent to Thomas Edison.
Canadian engineering also reached beyond Earth. SPAR Aerospace, working with the National Research Council, invented the Canadarm, a robotic arm used in outer space — a lasting symbol of Canadian ingenuity. Since 1989, the Canadian Space Agency and Canadian astronauts have taken part in space exploration, often using the Canadarm.
Gerhard Herzberg (a refugee from Nazi Germany), John Polanyi, Sidney Altman, Richard E. Taylor, Michael Smith and Bertram Brockhouse are Canadian Nobel Prize-winning scientists. Marshall McLuhan and Harold Innis were pioneer thinkers about communication.
Key facts
Sir Frederick Banting of Toronto and Charles Best discovered insulin, a hormone to treat diabetes that has saved 16 million lives worldwide.
Alexander Graham Bell hit on the idea of the telephone at his summer house in Canada.
Joseph-Armand Bombardier invented the snowmobile, a light-weight winter vehicle.
Sir Sandford Fleming invented the world system of standard time zones.
Mathew Evans and Henry Woodward together invented the first electric light bulb and later sold the patent to Thomas Edison.
SPAR Aerospace, working with the National Research Council, invented the Canadarm, a robotic arm used in outer space.
Dr. Wilder Penfield was a pioneering brain surgeon, and Dr. John A. Hopps invented the first cardiac pacemaker.
Reginald Fessenden sent the first wireless voice message in the world and contributed to the invention of radio.
Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie of Research in Motion (RIM) are known for the BlackBerry.
Answer all 4 to mark this lesson done.
1. Who discovered insulin?
2. What did Sir Sandford Fleming invent?
3. Which Canadian company, working with the National Research Council, invented the Canadarm?
4. What did Dr. John A. Hopps invent?
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