Brigadier General Henry Norlande Ruttan (May 21, 1848 – October 13, 1925) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

and

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

Officer. In 1885, he became the first city engineer of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, remaining in office until his retirement in 1914.

Career

Ruttan served as a survey engineer to Sir

Sandford Fleming Sir Sandford Fleming (January 7, 1827 – July 22, 1915) was a Scottish Canadian engineer and inventor. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to colonial Canada at the age of 18. He promoted worldwide standard time zones, a prime meridian, ...

. He was Winnipeg's city engineer for many years. Of Ruttan's many engineering projects, the James Avenue Pumping Station (1906), was considered the most modern such institution in the world. A charter member of the

Canadian Society for Civil Engineering The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) ( French: Société canadienne de génie civil) was founded in 1887 as the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, renamed in 1918 as the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), and re-established in Ju ...

, he served as president in 1910. In addition to the Canadian Society of Civil Engineering, he belonged to several other professional organizations, including

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, and

Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

. A recipient of the

Canada General Service Medal The Canada General Service Medal was a campaign medal awarded by the Canadian Government to both Imperial and Canadian forces for duties related to the Fenian raids between 1866 and 1871. The medal was initially issued in 1899 and had to be ap ...

, he was promoted to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in 1912.

Personal life

Ruttan was born in

Cobourg, Ontario Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It i ...

, in 1848 to Henry Jones Ruttan and Margaret Pringle. He was a descendant of

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America duri ...

, as was his wife, Andrina Barberie of

Dalhousie, New Brunswick Dalhousie ( ) is a formerly incorporated town, located in Restigouche County, New Brunswick. New Brunswick's northernmost point of land is situated in Dalhousie, where the Restigouche River meets Chaleur Bay. On 1 January 2023, Dalhousie merg ...

, whom he married in 1882. They had nine children, of whom four sons and two daughters survived infancy including Mary Louise Ruttan (b. 1877), Arthur Charles Ruttan, Col. Charles Millidge Ruttan (d. 1970), Henry Andrew Ruttan (1881–1958 – father of

Susan Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

), Francis Norlande Ruttan (born 1885), and J. D. Ruttan (born 1888). Ruttan's paternal grandfather, Henry Ruttan, was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada. Ruttan belonged to several social clubs, including

Manitoba Club The Manitoba Club is private club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Established as a gentleman's club in 1874, the Manitoba Club is the oldest private club in Western Canada. History On 16 July 1874, ten men met at the St. James Restaurant in Wi ...

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only. History The ...

, St. Charles Country Club, and the Winnipeg Automobile Club. He was a

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

, a member of the AF & AM, and he attended the Anglican church. He died at his home in

Armstrong's Point Armstrong's Point (informally referred to as The Gates) is a neighbourhood in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is located in the West End of the city and in a large bend in the Assiniboine River. The land was developed in the late 19th and early 20th cent ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, in 1925.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruttan, Henry Norlande 1848 births 1925 deaths People from Cobourg Canadian civil engineers Canadian generals Canadian Anglicans Huguenots United Empire Loyalists Scientists from Ontario Engineers from Ontario