George H. Nelms (1905 – September 17, 1999) was mayor of

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

from 1957 to 1960. He was an

optician An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...

by profession. Nelms was born in

Thame Thame is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of the city of Oxford and southwest of Aylesbury. It derives its name from the River Thame which flows along the north side of the town and forms part of the county border wi ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, England in 1905 and came 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 1912. He had two sons, Larry and John and two daughters, Linda and Jane. During his term as Mayor, he would welcome

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022 ...

and her husband the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...

to the city in 1957, a visit which included a ceremony to commence construction of the Queensway superhighway project. On June 24, 1957, Nelms opened

Laurentian High School Laurentian High School was a former Ottawa high school. It was located on Baseline Rd. at the corner of Clyde, in the city's West End. The school opened in 1958. LHS provided education to grade 9 through 12 through an unsemestered curriculum as ...

. In 1958, Nelms saw the opening of a new city hall facility on Green Island. He was also chair of the

Ottawa Transportation Commission Ottawa Transportation Commission was the public transit operator for the city of Ottawa from 1948 until the creation of OC Transpo in 1973. OTC took over streetcar operations from the Ottawa Electric Railway, but they were gradually abandoned for ...

under whose watch electric streetcar transit service was replaced with buses. Nelms died in Ottawa at Grace Hospital aged 94.

References

External links

Nelms Family in Canada (George Nelms family trace)
accessed 12 August 2006 1905 births 1999 deaths English emigrants to Canada Mayors of Ottawa People from Thame Ottawa controllers {{Ontario-mayor-stub