John By 615322 220248721 2008-06-18T23:23:27Z Cjrother 20394 list format {{Infobox Engineer |image = John By.jpg |image_size = 250 |caption = {{PAGENAME}} |name = {{PAGENAME}} |nationality = [[England|English]] |birth_date = [[7 August]] [[1779]] |birth_place = [[Lambeth]] , [[London]] |death_date = [[1 February]] [[1836]] |death_place = [[Frant]], [[East Sussex]] |education = |spouse = |parents = |children = |discipline = |institutions = |practice_name = |significant_projects = [[Rideau Canal]] |significant_design = |significant_advance = |significant_awards = }}Lieutenant-Colonel '''John By''' (probably [[7 August]] [[1779]] – [[1 February]] [[1836]]) was an [[England|English]] military engineer, best remembered for supervising the construction of the [[Rideau Canal]] and, in the process, founding what would become the city of [[Ottawa]]. Born in [[Lambeth]] in [[London]], England in 1779, By studied at the [[Royal Military Academy]]. He was commissioned in the [[Royal Artillery]] on [[1 August]] [[1799]] but transferred to the [[Royal Engineers]] on [[20 December]] the same year. In [[1802]] he was posted to [[Canada]] for the first time, where he worked on the fortification of [[Quebec City]] and on improving the navigability of the [[Saint Lawrence River]]. During the [[Napoleonic wars]] he returned to Europe, where he served in [[Spain]] under the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]] from [[1811]] until [[1815]]. With the end of the war By retired from the military but in [[1826]], in view of his engineering experience in Canada, he was recalled and returned to Canada to supervise the construction of the [[Rideau Canal]]. Since the canal was to begin in the wild and sparsely populated [[Ottawa River]] valley, his first task was the construction of a town to house the men who were to work on the canal, and associated services. The resulting settlement, called [[Bytown]] in his honour, would later become famous under the new name of Ottawa. The canal was completed in six years, and was acclaimed as an engineering triumph. Upon his return to London, however, By faced accusations about the finances of the project. Officials of the British ''Treasury Board'' suggested that he had made a number of unauthorised expenditures, and By spent the remaining years of his life attempting to clear his name. He died in [[1836]] and is buried in the village of [[Frant]] in [[East Sussex]] in the South East of England. John By's name lives on in a number of contexts: * The ''[[Byward Market]]'' area of Ottawa's [[Lower Town]] * His statue, executed by [[Joseph-Emile Brunet]] and unveiled in [[1971]], stands in nearby [[Major's Hill Park]] * Ottawa's [[Colonel By Secondary School (Gloucester)|Colonel By Secondary School]] * The scenic parkway of [[Colonel By Drive]], which follows the first stretch of the canal through the city from Lower Town to the falls at [[Hogs Back Falls|Hogs Back]] * The engineering building of the [[University of Ottawa]] * In [[1979]], to commemorate the bicentenary of his birth, [[Canada Post]] issued a stamp bearing his image * In Ottawa, ''Colonel By Day'' is the name given to the [[Ontario]] [[Holidays in Canada#The August holiday|August civic holiday]] == External links == {{Spoken Wikipedia|John_By.ogg|2007-03-31}} *[http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=37404 Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''] *[http://www.todayinsci.com/B/By_John/ByJohn-Bio.htm Biography from the ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (1901)] *[http://www.rideau-info.com/canal/tales/bye-by.html Bye By] - The full story of Lt. Colonel John By's fall from grace {{DEFAULTSORT:By, John}} [[Category:1779 births]] [[Category:1836 deaths]] [[Category:Rideau Canal]] [[Category:Royal Engineers officers]] [[Category:English civil engineers]] [[Category:Pre-Confederation Ontario people]] [[Category:People from Lambeth]] [[Category:British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars]] [[Category:Woolwich graduates]] [[fr:John By]]