George Anthony Barber (1802 – 20 October 1874) was an English-born educator, auditor, and sportsman who emigrated to Canada, where he became the first superintendent of Toronto's public school system and became known as ''the father of Canadian cricket''. Barber was born in 1802 in

Hitchin, Hertfordshire Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people, a tribe holding 300 ...

, England and emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1826. Upon his arrival, he taught at the Home District grammar school in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and married Lucinda Shortiss. After teaching in for three years, he joined the

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...

staff when it first opened in 1829. In his duties as collector, he was involved in a financial scandal in 1839 that forced him to put up £1,500 to cover shortfalls in the college accounts, and was forced to resign from the college as a result. The scandal, details of which are hazy, also involved Bishop

John Strachan John Strachan (; 12 April 1778 – 1 November 1867) was a notable figure in Upper Canada and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto. He is best known as a political bishop who held many government positions and promoted education from common sc ...

, Allan MacNab and Colonel Joseph Wells. While at Upper Canada College, Barber started a public auditing business and beginning in 1840 he became auditor for the city of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. In 1841 he was hired as editor of the ''Toronto Commercial Herald'' (later renamed ''Toronto Herald'' and ''Herald''). He eventually took over the paper and operated it until it ceased publication in 1848. In 1844, he became the first

superintendent of schools In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principal ...

for Toronto and was involved with the board of education in some capacity until his death. He was part of the period of critical growth for this community resource. An avid sportsman, his particular interest in

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

led to some popularity of the sport in Canada and the establishment in 1827 of the first known cricket club in Canada, the York Cricket Club. The club was renamed the Toronto Cricket Club in 1834. In 1844, Barber participated in the first international cricket match of the modern era when Canada defeated the US. This match began a series of cricket matches between the US and Canada that lasted until the outbreak of World War One in 1914. Barber is buried in St. James Cemetery in Toronto.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
1802 births 1874 deaths English emigrants to Canada Schoolteachers from Hertfordshire English cricketers Burials at St. James Cemetery, Toronto {{edu-bio-stub