Baldur Rosmund Stefansson, (April 26, 1917 – January 3, 2002) 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 ...
agricultural scientist and as one of the originators of
canola
Close-up of canola blooms
Canola flower
Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, ...
, became
known as the "Father of Canola".
Born in Vestfold, Manitoba, a son of
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic immigrants Gudmundur and Jonina Stefansson, he served in the Canadian army during
World War II
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 opposing ...
. After the war, he attended the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Keith Downey to develop a variety of
rapeseed
Rapeseed (''Brassica napus ''subsp.'' napus''), also known as rape, or oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains a ...
that could be used as an edible oil. This is known as canola and is one of Canada's top edible oil and one of the largest oilseed crops in the world. He retired in 1986.
In 1985 he was made an Officer of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the cen ...
. In 1998 he was awarded the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, one of Manitoba's highest honours. In 2000, he was presented with the Order of Manitoba and the Icelandic
Order of the Falcon
The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. N ...
.
He received Honorary Doctorates from the University of Manitoba in 1997 and the
University of Iceland
The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...
in 2000. He was inducted to the
Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame
The Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame (French: Temple canadien de la renommée agricole) honours and celebrate Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to the agriculture and food industry and publicizes the importance of their achieveme ...
in 2002.
He was married to Sigridur and they had three children: Bjorgvin, Helga and Paul.
The Canadian Encyclopedia
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage.
Available f ...