Alexander Aitkin

Not to be confused with Alexander Aitken.

Alexander Aitkin (or Aitken, born around 1771 and died 1799) was a Scottish surveyor. He served as deputy surveyor general in 1784 and later the first surveyor general of Upper Canada.

Aitkin was from Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland[1] to David Aitken and possibly Catherine.[2]

He served as deputy surveyor for Mecklenburg, Penetanguishene Harbour, and Lake Simcoe.[3] He was responsible for surveying and creating the first city plan for Toronto and made plans for the York Harbour in 1793.[4][5]

Lot Street, later to be renamed Queen Street, was the first concession street in York. The original street was 6,600 feet or 1.25 miles (approx. 2 km) in length.[6] The street was used to divide the lands in the Liberties into park lots for residential use.

He died of tuberculosis at an early age and was buried in Kingston, Ontario on 1 January 1800.[7]

  1. ^ Lobies, Jean-Pierre; Lobies, François-Pierre; Zeller, Otto; Zeller, Wolfram (1988). IBN: Index bio-bibliographicus notorum hominum (in Latin). Biblio Verlag. p. 288. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Biography – AITKEN, ALEXANDER – Volume IV (1771-1800) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". www.biographi.ca. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  3. ^ Publications of the Champlain Society: Ontario series. Champlain Society. 1963. p. 17. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  4. ^ Guillet, Edwin C. (1933). Early Life in Upper Canada. University of Toronto Press. p. 152. ISBN 9781487598037. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  5. ^ McHugh, Patricia; Bozikovic, Alex (2017). Toronto Architecture: A City Guide. McClelland & Stewart. p. 11. ISBN 9780771059902. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  6. ^ Bébout, Rick. "Queen Street: Thematic Preview". Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  7. ^ Turner, Glenn (2015). The Toronto Carrying Place: Rediscovering Toronto's Most Ancient Trail. Dundurn. p. 168. ISBN 9781459730472. Retrieved 14 June 2018.