James Maurice Stockford Careless (February 17, 1919 – April 6, 2009) was a Canadian historian.

Biography

J.M.S. Careless was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

and attended the

University of Toronto Schools University of Toronto Schools (UTS) is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school follows a specialized academic curriculum, and admission is determined by competitive ex ...

. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in 1940 from Trinity College at the

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

. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and received a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1941 and a PhD in 1950. During the Second World War, he worked in the historical branch of Naval Service Headquarters at Ottawa, then transferred to the

Department of External Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, where he served as Canadian Diplomatic Officer aboard the exchange ship . Careless began lecturing at the University of Toronto in 1945, where he taught graduate and undergraduate courses in Canadian political, ethnic, urban and intellectual history. He was appointed Assistant Professor in 1949, became a full Professor in 1959 and served as Chairman of the Department of History from 1959 to 1967. Dr. Careless was President of the Ontario Historical Society in 1959 and served as Vice-Chairman of the provincial Archaeological and Historic Sites Board. He was made

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

in 1984. In 1962, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and was awarded the J.B. Tyrrell Historical Medal. From 1963 to 1973, he was a Trustee for the

Ontario Science Centre The Ontario Science Centre, formally the Centennial Museum of Science and Technology, is a science museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the Don Valley Parkway about northeast of downtown on Don Mills Road just south of Eg ...

. From 1975 to 1981, he was a Director of the Ontario Heritage Foundation. In 1981, 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 ...

for his "ability to interpret Canadian history to the general reading public".
/sup> In 1987, he was awarded the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official Award, honour in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the A ...

Private life

J. M. S. Careless married Elizabeth Isobel Robinson on December 31, 1940. The couple had 5 children and 10 grandchildren.

Awards and honours

Awards

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual List of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. Th ...

, 1953, 1963 *

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

Medal for Biography, 1960 * J.B. Tyrrell Historical Medal, 1962 * Royal Society of Canada Fellow, 1962 * Cruikshank Medal,

Ontario Historical Society The Ontario Historical Society is a non-profit organization centred on the preservation of Ontario’s history. It is governed by an all-volunteer board of directors, and its members include individuals as well as historical institutions from across ...

, 1967 * City of Toronto Award, 1984, 1985 *

, 1981 *

, 1987 *

National Heritage Award The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's ...

, 1987

Honorary degrees

* Laurentian University, 1979 *

Memorial University Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and i ...

, 1981 *

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

, 1982 *

Royal Roads University Royal Roads University (also referred to as RRU or Royal Roads) is a public university with its main campus in Colwood, British Columbia. It is located at Hatley Park National Historic Site on Vancouver Island. Following the decommissioning of R ...

, 1983 *

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

, 1983 *

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Ameri ...

, 1984 *

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

, 1986

Selected bibliography

* ''Canada: A Story of Challenge'' (1953), winner of the

1953 Governor General's Awards In Canada, the 1953 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were the seventeenth such awards. The awards in this period had no monetary prize but were an honour for the authors. Winners *Fiction: David Walker, ''Digby''. *Poetry or Drama: ...

* ''The Union of the Canadas'' (1967) * ''Brown of the Globe'' Volume 1 (1959) and Volume 2 (1963), winner of the 1963 Governor General's Awards * ''Rise of Cities in Canada'' (1978) * ''The Pre-Confederation Premiers: Ontario Government Leaders, 1841-1867'' (1980) * ''Toronto to 1918: An Illustrated History'' (1984), winner of the City of Toronto Book Award * ''Frontier and Metropolis'' (1989) * ''Careless at Work: Selected Canadian Historical Studies'' (1990) * ''Ontario, A Celebration of Heritage'' (2 volumes 1991, 1992) * ''Canada, A Celebration of Heritage'' (2 volumes 1994, 1995)

Historical Consultant

J.M.S. Careless has served as a historical consultant for many films and television shows, including: * ''Lord Elgin: Voice of the People'', 1959 * ''Charles Tupper: The Big Man'', 1961 * ''John A. Macdonald: The Impossible Idea'', 1961 * ''Joseph Howe: The Tribune of Nova Scotia'', 1961 * ''Lord Durham'', 1961 * ''Robert Baldwin: A Matter of Principle'', 1961 * ''William Lyon Mackenzie: A Friend to His Country'', 1961 * ''Alexander Galt: The Stubborn Idealist'', 1962 * ''Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine'', 1962 * ''John Cabot: A Man of the Renaissance'', 1964 * ''The Last Voyage of Henry Hudson'', 1964 * ''Selkirk of Red River'', 1964 * ''David Thompson: The Great Mapmaker'', 1964 * ''Alexander Mackenzie: The Lord of the North'', 1964 * ''Origins: A History of Canada'', TV series, 1987

Notes

References

* *

External links

J.M.S. Careless archival papers
held at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
{{DEFAULTSORT:Careless, James Maurice Stockford 1919 births 2009 deaths Canadian Anglicans Canadian male non-fiction writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Harvard University alumni Officers of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Ontario Writers from Toronto University of Toronto alumni University of Toronto faculty Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers Historians of Canada 20th-century Canadian historians Presidents of the Canadian Historical Association