The Natural History Society of Montreal, which ran from 1827 to 1928, was the oldest scientific organisation in

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 ...

, and one of the oldest in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Its first meeting took place on May 12, 1827. The first chair of the society was Andrew Fernando Holmes. Other notable members were

George Barnston George Barnston ( 1800 – 14 March 1883) was a fur trader and a naturalist born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Barnston was trained as a surveyor and army engineer. He joined the North West Company in 1820 and was retained by the Hudson’s Bay Compan ...

and his son

James Barnston James Barnston (July 3, 1831 – May 20, 1858), a son of HBC fur trader George Barnston, was born at Norway House (Man.), and trained as a physician at the University of Edinburgh. He obtained an M.D. presenting a thesis ''Observations on scarl ...

and the first recorded Canadian

clerk of works A clerk of works or clerk of the works (CoW) is employed by an architect or a client on a construction site. The role is primarily to represent the interests of the client in regard to ensuring that the quality of both materials and workmanship are ...

John Mactaggart (1791-1830) John Mactaggart (26 June 1791 - 8 January 1830) was a Scottish writer and engineer born near Plunton Castle in the parish of Borgue. He is best known for writing '' The Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia'', a wide-ranging and idiosyncratic refere ...

. The society published a journal, originally titled the ''Canadian naturalist and quarterly journal of science'' (1856-1883) and subsequently the ''Canadian record of science'' (1884-1916). The society founded a natural history museum, some of whose collections are now stored in the

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

Herbarium.

References

{{Authority control Natural history societies Organizations established in 1827