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Alan Mendelson, Professor Emeritus in Religious Studies at McMaster University (appointed to the position of Assistant Professor in 1976), was born on 30 July 1939 in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of three universities: A.B., Kenyon College, 1961; M.A. in the History of Ideas, Brandeis University, 1965; and Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1971. He is the author or editor of several books: Secular Education in Philo of Alexandria (1982); Philo’s Jewish Identity (1988); From Bergen-Belsen to Baghdad: the Letters of Alex Aronson (with Joan Michelson, ed., 1992); Frye and the Word: Religious Contexts in the Writings of Northrop Frye (with Jeffery Donaldson, ed., 2004); and Exiles from Nowhere: the Jews and the Canadian Elite (2008).

Alvin Lee was born in Woodville, Ontario. He attended the University of Toronto where he received his Bachelors of Arts, a Master of Arts in English and a Ph.D in English in 1961. Lee began a teaching career at McMaster University as Assistant Professor of English in 1960 and progressed to Associate Professor, Assistant Dean, School of Graduate Studies, Dean of Graduate Studies, Vice-President, Academic and President and Vice-Chancellor from 1980 to 1990. Alvin Lee is the author of several books and articles on Old English literature and is a specialist in Middle English literature. He is currently Professor Emeritus, Department of English, at McMaster University. He served as General Editor of the 30-volume Collected Works of Northrop Frye, published by the University of Toronto Press between 1996 and 2012.

Dr. Lee was elected a Member of the Royal Commonwealth Society (England) in 1962. He was appointed Honorary Professor of English, University of Science and Technology, Beijing and Honorary Professor at Peking University in 1993. He was recognized by the Hamilton Gallery of Distinction in 1996 and achieved the City of Hamilton Award for Lifetime Distinction in Support of the Arts in 2015. He is also the Governor of the Lee Academy (a private elementary school in Lynden, Ontario); and served as Vice-Chair of the McMaster Museum of Art (1998-2005).

C. F. McLoughlin was a member of the United Arts Club in Dublin and an acquaintance of Jack Butler Yeats and other Irish writers. McLoughlin published two volumes of poetry. He used the pseudonym Conn Mecando for Imaginative Meaning: A Prismatic Medium. He also used the pseudonym Maelseachlainn for the annotations he added to letters and manuscripts in his fonds. Finally, he was nicknamed the Gunman. According to Patricia Boylan in All Cultivated People: A History of the United Arts Club, Dublin, "he was a peaceful man who spent most of his time behind a newspaper in the Dante Room [of the Arts Club], scowling at intruders, and was seldom seen in the bar. He got his nickname from his habit of wearing his hat well down over his eyes and his trench coat tightly belted in the manner of a Chicago gangster.

Richard Helmuth Fred Manske, organic chemist, was born in Berlin, Germany on 14 September 1901 to John A. and Bertha (née Wruck) Manske. The family immigrated to Canada in 1907. He attended Queen’s University in 1924 where he received both his B.Sc. and M.Sc. Later he attended Manchester University where he did his doctoral degree in 1926. Manske worked with the National Research Council of Canada as Bursar in 1923-1924. Then from 1930 to 1943, he worked as an associate research chemist for the National Research Council. He also did some research with General Motors Corporation and had a fellowship at Yale University. In 1943 he began to work at the Dominion Rubber Company (later Uniroyal Ltd.) in Guelph, Ontario, as Director of Research. After his retirement from Uniroyal, he continued as an Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at the University of Waterloo. McMaster University conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Science on him in 1960.

One of his major publications was Alkaloids: Chemistry and Physiology, a series of volumes which he edited from 1950 to 1977. In addition to his work as a chemist, he was an expert on the cultivation of orchids. He was married twice, first to Bessie Jean (d. 1959) and then to Doris Aileen. He had two daughters. He died in 1977 in Guelph. McMaster University has a scholarship, Manske-MacLean Bursaries in Chemistry, in his name.

John G. ("Jack") McClelland, publisher, was born in Toronto, Ont. in 1922 and educated at the University of Toronto. He joined McClelland and Stewart in 1946. He sold the company in 1987 and established a literary agency, Jack McClelland and Associates. It was incorporated in January 1989 and operated until 1993. His selected letters, Imagining Canadian Literature, were published in 1998. He died on 14 June, 2004.

Born in Donington, England on 2 August 1922, Edinborough was educated St. Catherine's College, Cambridge, B.A. 1947, M.A. (Hons. English) 1949, received Hon. LL.D. from Guelph University, 1969, and was appointed Hon. Fellow of St. John's [Anglican] College, Winnipeg, 1975. He was a writer, broadcaster, and "man of the arts". Academic career postings have included: Visiting Lecturer at the University of Lausanne, in 1947; Asst. Professor of English, 1949-1954, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont.; Visiting Professor, University of British Columbia, 1962-1963. From 1954 until 1970 he took on a variety of journalism roles: editor, Saturday Night, 1958-1962; purchased Saturday Night, and served as both President and Publisher, 1963-1970; contributing editor on culture to the Financial Post, 1970-1990; contributor to the Canadian Churchman, 1960-1989. His books include: Some Camel, Some Needle (1974); The Festivals of Canada (1981); Arnold Edinborough: an Autobiography (1991). He was an active producer of radio and television shows through EDIN Productions. In addition, he was involved in a wide variety of art and religious organizations. Edinborough died on 2 June 2006.

David Helwig was born in Toronto in April 1938 and was raised in Niagara-on-the-Lake. He received his BA from the University of Toronto in 1960 and earned his Masters at the University of Liverpool in 1962.

During the mid-1960s, Helwig became established in the Canadian literary scene by co-founding Quarry Magazine with Tom Marshall and Michael Ondaatje. Based in Kingston, Ontario, he became an English professor at Queens University and taught courses at Collins Bay Penitentiary. Using prose interviews with an inmate of the penitentiary, Helwig published a book about his experiences titled A Book About Billie (Oberon Press, 1972).

Between 1974 and 1976, Helwig worked as the literary manager of CBC’s television drama department, and continued to work freelance at CBC in the following decades.

Helwig is the author of 17 books of poetry, 25 books of fiction, and several other books which include translations, collected essays, and his memoir. Among his novels are a collection set in Kingston, Ontario, known as “The Kingston Novels”: The Glass Knight (1976), Jennifer (1979), It’s Always Summer (1982), and A Sound Like Laughter (1983). His autobiography, The Names of Things: A Memoir was published in 2006. His poetry collections have received numerous awards, including the CBC poetry award for Catchpenny Poems (1983), and the Atlantic Poetry Award for The Year One (2004).

In 1996, Helwig relocated to Prince Edward Island. He was appointed the province’s Poet Laureate in 2008 and received the Order of Canada in 2009. He is also a recipient of the Matt Cohen Award from the Writers’ Trust of Canada for lifetime contribution to Canadian literature.
As an essayist, Helwig published regularly in the Globe and Mail’s Facts & Arguments section (1990-1992) and the monthly PEI magazine, The Buzz (2005-2015).

His partner, Judy Gaudet, is an accomplished poet. His daughter, Maggie Helwig, is an Anglican priest, author, and social advocate in Toronto.

Marta Hidy was a concert violinist, conductor, and teacher. Marta Iren Hidy was born in Budapest on January 11, 1927 and died in Hamilton on November 4, 2010. She began learning the violin at age three, with her mother as her teacher. Her first concert was given at age 6. Hidy began her professional career at the age of 15 by winning the prestigious Remenyi Competition as the most eminent violinist of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. She went on to achieve international recognition as the winner of the Prague Chamber Music Competition in 1950 and the Wieniawsky Violin Competition in Poland in 1952. From 1953-1957 she was Hungarian State Soloist, during which time she appeared with orchestras in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Romania.

Hidy and her husband, Anton (Antal) Dvorak and their two small children fled Hungary during the revolution. In 1957 they immigrated to Canada, settling in Winnipeg, where Marta Hidy established the Hidy String Quartet and served from1957-65 as concertmistress of the CBC Winnipeg Orchestra, and assistant concertmistress of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. She formed the Hidy Trio from 1961-8 and produced the recording Music at the Canadian Pavilion (1967, CBC Expo 24). Hidy left Winnipeg to serve as concertmistress (1964-74) and later assistant conductor (1969-1974) of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1974 she formed the Ensemble Sir Ernest MacMillan. She was also conductor of the Chamber Players of Toronto from 1977-1979 and from 1980-1991. In 1978 Hidy founded Trio Canada with cellist Zdenek Konicek and pianist Valerie Tryon. She also played in the McMaster String Quartet from 1978-1989. Hidy has appeared as concert soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, and the Regina Symphony Orchestra. In addition to giving concerts in North America, Hidy has appeared as a soloist in New Zealand, Hungary, Japan, China and Hong Kong. Hidy was a founding member of McMaster University’s Music Department. She began teaching violin and chamber music in 1965 and retired as Professor in 1992. Hidy has performed as guest soloist under Alexander Brott and Boris Brott.

Herbert Rolland (Bill) Percy was born in Burnham, Kent, in 1920. He retired from the Canadian Navy in 1971 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander, 35 years after he entered the Royal Navy in England at the age of 16. In 1942 he married Mary Davina James. Together they raised three children. The author of numerous short stories, Percy has also written novels, biographies, and navy training manuals. He acted as editor of Canadian Author and Bookman from 1963 to 1966, and was involved in a number of professional organizations for writers. Percy died in 1997.

John Connell, whose real name was John Henry Robertson, was born in 1909 in the West Indies. He was educated at Loretto School in Scotland and Balliol College, Oxford, whence he emerged B.A. to join the London Evening News as a reporter in 1932. He wrote several novels during the 1930s, the first being Lindesay. During his wartime service, Connell acted as Chief Military Censor in India, and directed the British propaganda campaign in the Middle East which was designed to assure the Arab community of Britain's imminent victory. Thereafter the war exercised a strong hold on Connell's mind, evident in the military biographies he wrote later and in his choice of books for review in the London Evening News. In 1950 he won a literary prize for his book W.E. Henley, and in 1956 contributed the booklet on Churchill to the Writer's and Their Work series. Connell's last two works were Auchinleck (1959), and Wavell (1964). Connell died on October 1965, before he could complete the second volume of Wavell.

John Masefield, poet, novelist and playwright, was born in Herefordshire, on 1 June 1878. In 1888 he was sent to Warwick School and then, in 1891, to Liverpool, to train in the merchant marine. He followed this training by work at sea and travel. He returned to England in 1897 to take up his vocation as a poet while also working as a clerk. Beginning in 1901 he devoted himself full time to writing. During World War I Masefield was sent to the United States to explain the British war effort. In 1917 he received honorary degrees from both Yale and Harvard universities, the first of many such awards. He was Poet Laureate from 1930 to 1967. In 1935 he was elected to the Order of Merit. He died on 12 May 1967 at his home near Abingdon.

Herbert Menges, conductor and composer, was born in Hove on 27 August 1902. He was educated at the Royal College of Music where he studied with Holst and Vaughan Williams. He became the leader of the Brighton Society of Symphonic Players. The group later became the Brighton Philharmonic Society. Menges also composed music and conducted for the Old Vic Theatre where he became music director in 1931. He wrote the music for all of Shakespeare's plays performed at the theatre. He died in London on 20 February 1972.

Farley Mowat was born on May 12, 1921 in Belleville, Ont. and educated at the University of Toronto. In 1952 he published People of the Deer, a book about the Ihalmiut people of the Barrenlands, the first of his many books with a northern theme. Other popular Mowat themes are stories that involve the sea, Newfoundland and the protection of the environment and all living creatures. He was a man of strong opinions who described himself as a "rampant nationalist" and a "story-teller who is more concerned with reaching his audience than with garnering kudos from the arbiters of literary greatness." Among the many honours and awards that he received was an honorary doctorate from McMaster University in 1994. Farley Mowat died on May 6, 2014.

Margaret Watkins was born Meta Gladys Watkins on 8 November 1884 in Hamilton, Ontario. Her parents were Frederick W. Watkins and Marion Watt Anderson. Mr. Watkins was an alderman, head of the YMCA, a trustee of the Centenary Methodist Church, a knight of the temperance movement, and a prominent dry goods merchant. He was owner of Pratt & Watkins and later Frederick W. Watkins stores. Marion Watt Anderson was from Glasgow, Scotland. She was active in art and music.

Watkins left home in 1908. She worked in various artists' communities, including the Roycrofters in East Aurora, New York from 1909 to 1910, and the Lanier Camp in Maine from 1911 to 1916. She lived in Boston from 1912 to 1915, where she published the occasional poem and designed costumes for amateur plays. She attended the Clarence H. White Summer School of Photography in Maine in 1914 and worked as an apprentice photographer with the Arthur Jamieson Studio in Boston. In 1915 Watkins moved to New York City and began work for Alice Boughton. She attended and taught at the Clarence H. White School of Photography. Watkins's photographic works were exhibited in a number of locations, including San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Java, Japan and London.

Watkins became a successful commercial photographer specializing in portraits and still life works. She was commissioned by Macy's and J. Walter Thompson to photograph items. Watkins also trained some of the best commercial photographers of her time including Paul Outerbridge, Ralph Steiner and Margaret Bourke-White. Watkins was actively involved with the Pictorial Photographers of America, The Art Center and the Zonta Club of New York. In 1928, Watkins left for a six-week holiday in Europe. When she arrived, she took over caring for her maiden aunts and never returned to New York.

Watkins continued to photograph in Europe and was a member of the West of Scotland Photographic Club and the Royal Photographic Society. She photographed trips to the USSR, Germany and France (1928-1933). She and her friend, Bertha Henson (nee Merriman), began an import/export business in the late thirties. Margaret Watkins died in Glasgow on 10 November 1969.

Susan Musgrave was born on March 12, 1951 in Santa Cruz, California. She has lived in Hawaii, Ireland, England and Columbia and presently resides in Sidney, British Columbia. She is married to Stephen Reid whose fonds is also at McMaster. She has published novels, children's books, collections of essays and poetry. Her published works include Entrance of the Celebrant (1972), Selected Strawberries and Other Poems (1977), The Charcoal Burners (1980), The Dancing Chicken (1987), Great Musgrave (1989) Forcing the Narcissus (1994), The Situation in Which We Are Both Amateurs (1997), Things That Keep and Do Not Change (1999) and Cargo of Orchids (2000) and Origami Dove (2011), A Taste of Haida Gwaii (2016), More Blueberries (2019) (Chldren’s book) and Kiss Tickle Cuddle Hug (2010) (Children’s book).

Matt Cohen, writer and translator, was born on 30 December 1942, in Kingston, Ont. He was educated at the University of Toronto, graduating with a BA in Political Economy in 1964, followed by a Master's degree in Political Science in 1965. He taught at McMaster University in the Department of Religion in 1967-1968. Cohen was Writer-in-Residence at Rochdale College (1968), University of Alberta (1975-1976), the University of Western Ontario (1981), the University of Bologna (1985), and Toronto Reference Library (1997). He also taught writing at the University of Victoria in 1979-1980.

In his own writing Cohen employed a variety of literary forms–short story, poetry, song, novella and full-length novel. He also wrote children's books using the pseudonym of "Teddy Jam". Cohen was the recipient of numerous awards and honours and his work has been translated into many languages. He died on 2 December 1999, shortly after winning the Governor General's Award for his novel Elizabeth and After. Cohen was married three times, first to Arden Ford, then to Susan Bricker and finally to Patsy Aldana. After his marriage to Susan Bricker ended, he lived for a time with Katherine Govier. In 1978 he met Patricia Aldana with whom he shared the rest of his life. Patsy had two children, Carlota ("Coca") and Seth McAllister, from an earlier marriage. With Patsy, Cohen had two children, Daniel and Madeleine. Cohen purchased a farm near Bellrock, north of Kingston, Ont. and lived there and also in Toronto until his death. Cohen and his family also lived for extended periods in Spain, France and Italy.

Sylvia Lorraine Bowerbank was born on July 19, 1947 in Hamilton, Ontario and spent her early years at Baptiste Lake. It was during this period that she developed her appreciation of nature which was to influence her throughout her life. She attended Carleton University, the University of Toronto and Simon Fraser University, receiving her B.A. (1970) and her Ph.D (1985) in English from McMaster University.

It was at McMaster that she began as Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Cultural Studies and Arts and Science in 1986. At the time of her death in 2005, she was Professor of English and Cultural Studies. She was one of the founders of the Women’s Studies Program and was also a Co-Chair of the President’s Committee on Indigenous Issues. She sat on international editorial boards for journals and executive committees for international associations and was also the vice-president, then the president of the Canadian Women’s Studies Association. During her career, she received several honours for her contributions to undergraduate education: she was nominated six times for teaching awards and received a McMaster Student Union Teaching Award (1986-87). She also received the McMaster Student Environmental Recognition Award (2002) and a Special Recognition Award from the President’s Committee on Indigenous Issues and Indigenous Studies Program (2002).

Her scholarship has been foundational in a number of fields: early modern cultural studies, focusing on women’s texts and history; ecocriticism; literature and science studies; and indigenous cultures. She published widely in books and journals. Her book on seventeenth century women’s writing, entitled, Speaking for Nature: Women and Ecologies in Early Modern England (Johns Hopkins U.P.) was published in 2004.

Sid Howard worked for both The Robert Simpson Company as a manager of city advertising and as chief of copy staff at A. McKim Ltd., an advertising agency. He served in the Ottawa Press Gallery for The Toronto Daily Star. During World War I he was assistant director of publicity for the Canada Food Board. Howard was an editor for Rod and Gun and wrote extensively on hunting and fishing. He did important research on the James Bay area and Moose Factory before the advent of the railway in northern Ontario. He also wrote numerous adventure-style short stories and articles for Canadian and American journals and newspapers. Howard was a member of the Arts and Letters Club and The Saturday Club of Toronto.

Edward E. Seymour, prominent labour organizer, was born 30 July 1940 in Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. He was raised in Sydney, Nova Scotia and attended Sydney Academy prior to moving to Ontario in 1958. He received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Waterloo in 1974. He is the author of An Illustrated History of Canadian Labour 1800-1974 (1976, 2nd ed. 1980) and Illuminating the Past Brightening the Future: An Illustrated History International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 353 1903-2003 (2003).

Mr. Seymour’s trade union experience dates back to 1962 when he became a member of Lodge 1246, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. From 1970 to 1977, he was the Canadian Education and Publicity Director for the Textile Workers Union of America. In 1977 he was the national representative for the Communications Workers of Canada (CLC). In 1986 he established Solidarity Consulting, a consulting firm for unions. He was also a partner of Resolutions Unlimited (established in 2000), a firm that focuses on the resolution of harassment and discrimination in the work place. Mr. Seymour served many times on arbitration boards for a number of unions.

Austin Ardinel Chesterfield ("Tom") Clarke, author, was born in Barbados on 26 July 1934. His parents were Kenneth Trotman and Gladys Irene Clarke. His mother later married F.H. Luke. Clarke immigrated to Canada in 1956 and attended Trinity College at the University of Toronto for a short time. His interest in writing began early in life, and in the 1960s his short stories began to be published in Canadian and other periodicals. Clarke's stories and novels primarily centre around the plight of the immigrant West Indian in Canada, although his first two novels, The Survivors of the Crossing and Amongst Thistles and Thorns, take place in Barbados.

He was a member of The Immigration and Refugee Board from 1983 to 1993; he also held a position with The Ontario Film Review Board from 1984 to 1987. Clarke was the inaugural recipient of The Rogers Communications Writers' Trust Fiction Prize for his semi-autobiographical novel The Origin of Waves, published in 1997. His 2002 novel, The Polished Hoe, won the Trillium, Giller and Commonwealth prizes. His novel More was published in 2008. The author currently resides in Toronto, Ont. For further biographical material, please consult McMaster University's Library Research News (6, no. 1, Spring 1982) and Stella Algoo-Baksh, Austin C. Clarke: A Biography (Toronto: ECW Press, 1994). Clarke died in Toronto on 26 June 2016.