Agnes Deans Cameron

Born in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1863, Agnes Deans Cameron built an unusually wide-ranging career as an educator, writer, lecturer, and traveler. She began teaching while still young and went on to become British Columbia's first woman high school teacher and later its first woman principal.

After leaving school administration, she turned more fully to writing and public lecturing. She traveled widely, wrote for newspapers and magazines, and became known for vivid talks and articles that promoted western and northern Canada to broad audiences.

Cameron is best remembered for her 1908 journey to the Arctic Ocean, made with her niece Jessie Brown. She later described the expedition in The New North, a book that helped secure her reputation as one of Canada's notable early travel writers and adventurers. She died in Victoria in 1912.