Charles Constantine (13 November 1846 – 5 May 1912) was a Canadian North-West Mounted Police officer and superintendent, from Bradford,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. Following his service in the Canadian militia during the

Red River Rebellion The Red River Rebellion (french: Rébellion de la rivière Rouge), also known as the Red River Resistance, Red River uprising, or First Riel Rebellion, was the sequence of events that led up to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by ...

(1870) and the North-West Rebellion (1885), he was commissioned as an inspector in the North-West Mounted Police in 1886. After serving in Banff and Regina, he was sent to examine conditions in the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

district in 1894 as the government was concerned about the influx of American miners and the liquor trade. He forecast that a gold rush was imminent and reported that there was an urgent need for a police force. In the following year, he went back to the Yukon with a force of 20 men who were in place when the Klondike Gold Rush started in 1897. Constantine's efforts ensured that law was maintained during the gold rush, that Canadian sovereignty was assured and helped create the Mounties' international reputation. He left the Yukon in 1898, replaced by

Sam Steele Major General Sir Samuel Benfield Steele (5 January 1848 – 30 January 1919) was a distinguished Canadian soldier and police official. He was an officer of the North-West Mounted Police, most famously as head of the Yukon detachment during th ...

and returned to the prairies after being promoted to Superintendent. In 1902, he returned to the north to establish forts at

Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories Fort McPherson ( Gwich'in: ''Teetł'it Zheh'' , ''at the head of the waters'') is a hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located on the east bank of the Peel River and is south of Inuvik on the Demps ...

and

Herschel Island Herschel Island (french: Île d'Herschel; Inuit languages: ''Qikiqtaruk'') is an island in the Beaufort Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean), which lies off the coast of Yukon in Canada, of which it is administratively a part. It is Yukon's only ...

off the Yukon

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

coast. This was the first foray by the NWMP north of the Arctic circle. After returning to the Athabasca District in 1905, Constantine was responsible for building a trail from

Fort St. John, British Columbia Fort St. John is a city located in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The most populous municipality in the Peace River Regional District, the city encompasses a total area of about with 20,155 residents recorded in the 2016 Census. Located ...

Teslin Lake Teslin Lake is a large lake spanning the border between British Columbia and Yukon, Canada. It is one of a group of large lakes in the region of far northwestern BC, east of the upper Alaska Panhandle, which are the southern extremity of the bas ...

in the Yukon, although work on the trail was abandoned in 1908. He died in 1912 in California following an operation.

Family

In 1873, Constantine married Henrietta Anne Armstrong. One of his sons, Charles Francis Constantine, became the XI Commandant at RMC, Kingston.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constantine, Charles 1846 births 1912 deaths History of Yukon People of the Klondike Gold Rush People from the Northwest Territories Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers People from Montérégie English emigrants to Canada Anglophone Quebec people

Family

See also

External links