Robert Ferguson Legget (September 29, 1904 – April 17, 1994) was a civil engineer, historian and non-fiction writer. He is internationally known for his contributions to engineering, geology and building research and standardization. He is credited with the establishment of co-operation among Canadian geotechnical engineers, geologists and pedologists.

Life

Legget was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England, to Donald Thompson Legget and his wife Mary, both of whom were of Scottish descent. He was educated at the

Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby ("Small things grow in harmony" - Sallust) , established = , closed = , type = Public SchoolIndependent school; Day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Head Master , head = Mr Deiniol Willi ...

. He studied Civil Engineering and obtained a BEng (Hons) in 1925, and MEng 1927, from the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

. He was initially employed as an engineer on the

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creation ...

Water Power Scheme in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He then emigrated to

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 ...

in 1929, working for the Power Corporation of Canada. In 1936, he began teaching at Queen's University and the

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 ...

. He left teaching in 1947 to establish and serve as director of the

National Research Council of Canada The National Research Council Canada (NRC; french: Conseil national de recherches Canada) is the primary national agency of the Government of Canada dedicated to science and technology research & development. It is the largest federal research ...

's new Division of Building Research. He held this position until he retired in 1969. Part of his legacy there was to establish a National Building Code that was respected throughout all of Canada, as opposed to the multitude of inconsistent local codes that were prevalent in 1947. Around 1945, after

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 opposin ...

, Leggat shaped the

Environmental Conservation *Environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, w ...

movement in

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 Ca ...

by spearheading the Guelph Conference, the Ganaraska Study and the Conservation Authorities Act of Ontario (1946). He also was a founder, in 1962, of the Canadian Permafrost Conferences. He was the founding President of the

Canadian Academy of Engineering The Canadian Academy of Engineering (french: L'Académie canadienne du génie) is a national academy of distinguished professional engineers in all fields of engineering, who are elected on the basis of "their distinguished service and contribution ...

. Between 1959 and 1960, Legget was the chairman of the Engineering Geology Division of the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchco ...

(GSA). He served as GSA president in 1966. In 1971 he received an honorary doctorate (DEng) from the

. In 1977 he received the Sir John Kennedy Medal. After he retired, Dr. Legget wrote many books on the history of transportation in Canada including ''Ottawa Waterway: Gateway to A Continent'', ''Rideau Waterway'', ''Canals of Canada'', ''The Seaway'', and others, and he was a contributor to the

Dictionary of Canadian Biography The ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' (''DCB''; french: Dictionnaire biographique du Canada) is a dictionary of biographical entries for individuals who have contributed to the history of Canada. The ''DCB'', which was initiated in 1959, is a ...

. Legget died in Ottawa at the age of 89. His wife, Mary Free, had died in 1984. They had one son.

Philanthropy

The Legget Endowment Fund is used by the Conservation Foundation on an annual basis for otherwise-unfunded current needs in the Rideau Valley.

Publications

*Editor of ''Soils in Canada'' *General editor of the ''Canadian Building'' Series, published by University of Toronto Press *"The Region and the City." in ''Planning Canadian Towns and Cities'' (University of Toronto, Extension Department, 1944, vol. 2) *''Rideau Waterway'' (1955), (revised 1972) – history of the

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal, also known unofficially as the Rideau Waterway, connects Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston. It is 202 kilometres long. The name ''Rideau'', French for "curtain", ...

*''Ottawa Waterway, Gateway to a Continent'' (1975) *''Canals of Canada'' (1975) *''Glacial Till'' (1976) *''Handbook of Geology in Civil Engineering'' (1983) with P.F. Karrow *''Railways of Canada''(1973)

Honours, awards and legacy

*Recognized by 13 honorary degrees including; ** 1963, an honorary Doctorate of Science by the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

** 1969, an honorary Doctorate of Science by the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

** 1971, an honorary Doctorate of Engineering by the University of Liverpool ** 1972, an honorary Doctorate of Science by

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

*Honours ** made an honorary member of the

American Underground Construction Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

** received the

Royal Bank Award Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

** made an Honorary Life Member of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority ** the

Canadian Geotechnical Society 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 ...

awards the R.F. Legget Medal as its highest honour ** 1967, invested as 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 ...

** 1988, elected to the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

** 1989, promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada *Awards ** 1972, awarded the

Logan Medal :::''There is also a Logan Medal of the arts, awarded by the Chicago Arts Institute.'' The Logan Medal is the highest award of the Geological Association of Canada. Named after Sir William Edmond Logan, noted 19th-century Canadian geologist. It ...

by the

Geological Association of Canada The Geological Association of Canada (GAC) is a learned society that promotes and develops the Geology, geological sciences in Canada. The organization holds conferences, meetings and exhibitions for the discussion of geological problems and the ...

** 1974, awarded the Claire P. Holdredge Award by Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists ** 1977, awarded the William Smith Medal by the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

* Archivescgs.ca: "LEGGET, Robert F. – MG 31, J 44 Finding Aid No. 1929 / Instrument de recherche no 1929"
/ref>

References

External links

The Canadian EncyclopediaRobert F. Legget Endowment Fund
* ttp://aegweb.org/about-aeg/awards/holdredge-award Claire P. Holdredge Awardbr>AUA Honorary MembersEarth Science in the City: A ReaderRideau Waterway (Paperback)University of Waterloo Honorary degreesUniversity of Western Ontario Honorary degrees
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Legget, Robert F. 1904 births 1994 deaths Alumni of the University of Liverpool Anglo-Scots Canadian environmentalists Canadian civil engineers 20th-century Canadian geologists Canadian science writers Canadian philanthropists University of Toronto faculty Companions of the Order of Canada British emigrants to Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Fellows of the Engineering Institute of Canada Writers from Ottawa Canadian people of Scottish descent Academics from Liverpool Logan Medal recipients 20th-century philanthropists Presidents of the Geological Society of America People educated at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby