Simon Fraser | |
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&sq=Google&lang=en&file=File:Simon_Fraser,_explorer.jpg) Pre-1825 portrait of Fraser | |
| Born | 20 May 1776 |
| Died | August 18, 1862 (aged 86) |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse | Catherine McDonell |
| Children | Nine altogether, one died at infancy |
| Parent(s) | Isabella Grant and Simon Fraser II |
Simon Fraser (20 May 1776 – 18 August 1862) was a Canadian explorer and fur trader who charted much of what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia. He also built the first European settlement in British Columbia.
Employed by the Montreal-based North West Company, he had been by 1805 put in charge of all of the company's operations west of the Rocky Mountains. He was responsible for building that area's first trading posts, and in 1808, he explored what is now known as the Fraser River, which bears his name. Fraser's exploratory efforts were partly responsible for Canada's boundary later being established at the 49th parallel (after the War of 1812) since he, as a British subject, was the first European to establish permanent settlements in the area. According to the historian Alexander Begg, Fraser "was offered a knighthood but declined the title due to his limited wealth."[1]
- ^ History of British Columbia from its earliest discovery to the present time, p. 97 Archived 2011-05-27 at the Wayback Machine, Alexander Begg, publ. William Briggs, Toronto, 1894. In 1965, a university was built and named Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. Today, the university has three campuses within Metro Vancouver (Surrey, Vancouver and Burnaby).