George Frederick Cameron (24 September 1854 – 17 September 1885) 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 ...

poet, lawyer, and journalist, best known for the libretto for the

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

Leo, the Royal Cadet ''Leo, the Royal Cadet'' is a light opera with music by Oscar Ferdinand Telgmann. The libretto was by George Frederick Cameron. It was composed in Kingston, Ontario, Canada in 1889. The work centres on Nellie's love for Leo, a cadet at the Royal M ...

''.

Life

He was born in

New Glasgow, Nova Scotia New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. The town's population was 9,075 ...

, the son of James Grant Cameron and Jessie Sutherland. He was educated in New Glasgow. He moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in April 1869. For three years he was writing on the subject of freedom, especially the struggle which was taking place in Cuba. He graduated from the

Boston University School of Law Boston University School of Law (Boston Law or BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the United States and considered an eli ...

in 1877. He worked for the law firm Dean, Butler and Abbot of Boston from 1877 to 1882. He contributed poetry to Boston periodicals, including the ''Courier'' and the ''Transcript''. In fall 1882 he enrolled in Queen's College in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

where he won a poetry prize in 1883 for "Adelphi." He is sometimes considered one of the Confederation Poets. He married a 12 year Ella Amey on 22 August 1883. He was the editor of the Daily News in

from March 1883 until his death of heart failure on 17 September 1885 at Millhaven, Ontario. The couple had had one daughter, Jessie Cameron Alison. George Frederick Cameron was a

war poet A war poet is a poet who participates in a war and writes about their experiences, or a non-combatant who writes poems about war. While the term is applied especially to those who served during the First World War, the term can be applied to a p ...

since he was a poet writing in time of and on the subject of the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupl ...

. He wrote ''

''. The latter achieved over 1,700 performances between its premiere in 1889 and 1925 and has recently been revived in 2001 and 2010. In 1887 his brother, Charles L. Cameron, edited and published a selection of Cameron's poems under the title '' Lyrics on Freedom, Love and Death'' (Kingston, 1887).

Recognition

Cameron's poem "On Leaving the Coast of Nova Scotia" was included in the 1889 anthology ''

Songs of the Great Dominion ''Songs of the Great Dominion'' was a pioneering anthology of Canadian poetry published in 1889. The book's full title was ''Songs of the Great Dominion: Voices from the Forests and Waters, the Settlements and Cities of Canada''.William Douw Light ...

''. His poetry also appeared in ''A Century of Canadian Sonnets'' (1910). George Frederick Cameron was declared a

Person of National Historic Significance Persons of National Historic Significance (National Historic People) are people designated by the Canadian government as being nationally significant in the history of the country. Designations are made by the Minister of the Environment on the re ...

in 1946. A bronze plaque was affixed to the New Glasgow post office (since moved to the town's Dominion Building) by Historic Sites and Monuments of Canada which reads: "George Frederick Cameron, Poet and Journalist, Author of "Lyrics of Freedom, Love and Death". Born at New Glasgow, 24 September 1854. Died in Kingston, Ontario, 17 September 1885."

Works

Leo, the Royal Cadet Opera based on Royal Military College of Canada

* "

", George Frederick Cameron (Libretto) and

Oscar Ferdinand Telgmann Oscar Ferdinand Telgmann (ca. 1855 – 30 March 1946) was a German-Canadian composer of operettas, conductor and educator, and violinist best known for his operetta ''Leo, the Royal Cadet''. Early life Telgmann was born in Mengeringhausen (now ...

'An entirely new and original military opera in four acts' (Kingston, 1889)

"Ho! Ho! My Airy Fairy Maid," "Ho! Ho! My Pretty Maid," "I met him in the far away" from ''Opera and Operetta Excerpts'' Composer: Oscar Ferdinand Telgmann

Words: George Frederick Cameron ''Farewell, O Fragrant Pumpkin Pie''
from ''

'' Composer: Oscar Ferdinand Telgmann
Our Premier music/words by George Frederick Cameron; music by Oscar Telgmann Kingston, Ont.: C.J. Cameron, c 1885 in honour of John A. Macdonald
* - - * * * * - * * * * * *

Fonds

The George F. Cameron fonds at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, 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 a ...

consists of manuscript notebooks as well as handwritten and typewritten copies of his poetry.

Life

Recognition

Works

Fonds

References

See also