author
Sir Daniel Wilson
1816–1892
A Scottish-born scholar who helped shape intellectual life in Canada, he brought archaeology, ethnology, and university leadership together in one unusually wide-ranging career. His books on prehistoric life and early Canadian culture helped introduce broad audiences to new ways of thinking about the past.
5 Audiobooks
William Nelson : a memoir
by Sir Daniel Wilson
The archæology and prehistoric annals of Scotland
by Sir Daniel Wilson
The lost Atlantis, and other ethnographic studies
by Sir Daniel Wilson
Prehistoric man : researches into the origin of civilisation in the Old and the New world
by Sir Daniel Wilson
The right hand : Left-handedness
by Sir Daniel Wilson
About the author
Born in Edinburgh in 1816, Daniel Wilson later settled in Toronto, where he became an important figure in Canadian academic life. Reliable biographical sources describe him as an archaeologist, ethnologist, author, and educator, and note that he went on to serve as president of University College and then as the third president of the University of Toronto.
Wilson is especially remembered for writing about prehistoric societies and for helping establish archaeology and ethnology as serious fields of study in Canada. Sources also note his lasting interest in history, language, and culture, as well as his role in connecting Scottish intellectual traditions with the growth of higher education in Toronto.
He was knighted late in life and died in Toronto in 1892. For readers coming to his work today, he stands out as a nineteenth-century man of letters whose curiosity ranged across art, science, history, and education.