John Armistead Wilson

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(November 2, 1879 – October 10, 1954) was a Scottish-born Canadian engineer and aviation pioneer. Along with Major Clare C. MacLaurin, he was responsible for the formulation of Canada's aviation policy following the First World War. He has been dubbed "The Father of Canadian Civil Aviation".

Biography

Wilson was appointed Secretary of the Air Board in 1920, Assistant Director and Secretary of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

in 1923, Controller of Civil Aviation in 1927 and Director of Air Services in 1941. He retired from public service in 1945. For his services during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Wilson was appointed a CBE in 1945 and was decorated by Norway. He received the Julian C. Smith Memorial Medal of the

Engineering Institute of Canada The Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) (French: l'Institut canadien des ingénieurs; ICI) is a federation of fourteen engineering societies based in Canada, covering a broad range of engineering branches, and with a history going back to 1887. F ...

in 1944 and the

Trans-Canada Trophy The Trans-Canada Trophy, also known as the McKee Trophy, is awarded by the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute to a Canadian citizen who has made an outstanding, contemporary achievement in aerospace operations, whether a single act within the ...

the same year. His son

John Tuzo Wilson John Tuzo Wilson (October 24, 1908 – April 15, 1993) was a Canadian geophysicist and geologist who achieved worldwide acclaim for his contributions to the theory of plate tectonics. ''Plate tectonics'' is the scientific theory that the rigi ...

was a prominent geophysicist and geologist.

References

* https://cahf.ca/john-armistead-wilson/ * https://legionmagazine.com/en/2005/03/fathering-civil-aviation/ * https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-armistead-wilson * https://www.archeion.ca/j-wilson-fonds 1879 births 1954 deaths British emigrants to Canada Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Canadian engineers Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century Canadian civil servants Canadian Army officers Governor General's Foot Guards