John Murray Gibbon (12 April 1875 – 2 July 1952) was a

Scottish-Canadian Scottish Canadians are people of Scottish people, Scottish descent or cultural heritage, heritage living in Canada. As the third-largest ethnic group in Canada and amongst the first Europeans to settle in the country, Scottish people have made a ...

writer and cultural promoter. He was born in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

on 12 April 1875 the second son of

William Duff Gibbon Sir William Duff Gibbon (18 July 1837 – 19 March 1919) was a British Ceylonese tea planter and politician. Biography William Duff Gibbon was born 18 July 1837 in Aberdeen, Scotland, the youngest of nine children to Rev. Charles Gibbon (1789 ...

a tea planter and Katherine née Murray. Gibbon was educated at

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

universities. He emigrated to Canada in 1913 to work for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

. In 1921, he became founding president of the

Canadian Authors Association The Canadian Authors Association is Canada's oldest association for writers and authors. The organization has published several periodicals, organized local chapters and events for Canadian writers, and sponsors writing awards, including the Gover ...

. A long-time enthusiast of folk culture, Gibbon organized a series of

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

and

crafts A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...

festivals over the years. With

Sir Ernest MacMillan Sir Ernest Alexander Campbell MacMillan, (August 18, 1893 – May 6, 1973) was a Canadian orchestral conductor, composer, organist, and Canada's only "Musical Knight". He is widely regarded as being Canada's pre-eminent musician, from th ...

, he published the four-volume ''French Canadian Folk Songs'' (1928). Histories he wrote included ''Scots in Canada'' (1911), ''Steel of Empire: The Romantic History of the Canadian Pacific'' (1935), ''

Canadian Mosaic ''Canadian Mosaic'' is a book by John Murray Gibbon, published in 1938. Gibbon's book, the full title of which is ''Canadian Mosaic: The Making of a Northern Nation'', heralded a new way of thinking about immigrants that was to shape Canadian imm ...

'' (1938) and two histories of nursing. He also wrote several novels. Gibbon's work was to have a major impact on the creation of a

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

multicultural The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...

, national culture. ''Canadian Mosaic'' influenced the adoption of the concept of a "

cultural mosaic "Cultural mosaic" (french: "la mosaïque culturelle") is the mix of ethnic groups, languages, and cultures that coexist within society. The idea of a cultural mosaic is intended to suggest a form of multiculturalism, different from other system ...

" in the Canadian government's multiculturalism policies. Additionally, Gibbon had a keen interest in horseback riding in the Canadian Rockies and was the founder of the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies. (www.trailridevacations.com) in 1923. He was secretary-treasurer of the club for over 30 years. He died at

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

Works

* ''The True Annals Of Fairyland In The Reign Of King Cole dited', (1909) * ''Scots In Canada'', (1911) * ''Hearts And Faces: The Adventure Of A Soul'', (1916) * ''Drums Afar'', (1918) * ''A Canadian Calendar'', (1919) * ''The Conquering Hero'', (1920) * ''Pagan Love'', (1922) * ''Eyes Of A Gypsy'', (1926) * ''French Canadian Folk Songs r=? ranslated & edited', (1928) * ''Canadian Folksongs Old And New =? ranslated & edited', (1929) * ''Prince Charlie And Flora'', (1929) * ''Melody And Lyric, From Chaucer To The Cavaliers'', (1930) * ''The Magic Of Melody'', (1933) * ''Steel Of Empire:...The Canadian Pacific Railway...'', (1935) * ''Northland Songs'', (1936) * ''The Man Comes Down From The Moon'', (1937) * ''Canadian Mosaic: The Making Of A Northern Nation'', (1938) * ''New World Ballads'', (1939) * ''The New Canadian Loyalists'', (1941) * ''Pioneer Songs Of Canada'', (1941) * ''Canada In Song'', (1941) * ''The Victorian Order Of Nurses For Canada'', (1947) * ''Three Centuries Of Canadian Nursing ith Mary S MATHEWSON', (1947) * ''Canadian Cadences'', (1949) * ''New Colour For The Canadian Mosaic: The Displaced Person'', (1951) * ''The Romance Of The Canadian Canoe'', (1951) * ''Ballads Of BC'' Source:

References

External links

Four Seasons: a Canadian Song Cycle for voice and piano
at

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

Canadian Sheet Music Collection
Prince Charlie and Flora, a ballad opera: Libretto
at

Canadian Sheet Music Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbon, J 1875 births 1952 deaths 20th-century Canadian historians Canadian male non-fiction writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Scottish emigrants to Canada Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)

Works

References

Further reading

External links