Historical Timelines

1905

The Province of Alberta was established on September 1, 1905.

1906

The Provincial Legislature passed the University Act during the first session in the spring of 1906.

1907

The City of Strathcona was selected as the site of the University in April 1907.

1908

On September 23, 1908 the University of Alberta opened its doors to 45 students in four rented rooms on the top floor of the Duggan Street School (later known as Queen Alexandra School) at 106 Street and University Avenue.

At a Senate meeting of July 6, 1908 the following appointments were confirmed: Dr. W.H. Alexander became Professor of Classics, Mr. L. H. Alexander became Professor of Modern Languages, Dr. E.K. Broadus became Professor of English, and Mr. Wm. Muir Edwards became Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Lecturer in Engineering. President Tory taught History in addition to fulfilling the roles of President and of Registrar.

In March 1908, the Senate resolved that the University would begin with a single faculty, that of Arts and Science, which would confer degrees of B.A. and B.Sc. in Arts as well as a B.Sc. in Applied Science.

Henry Marshall Tory became the 1st President of the University on January 1, 1908.

1909

In January 1909 the University moved to the top floor of the new Strathcona Collegiate Institute (now Old Scona Academic High School) at 10523 - 84 Avenue in advance of the building’s official opening on February 17, 1909.

1910

The Provincial Legislature passed a new University Act, which revised the University structure, and established the Board of Governors.

1911

Athabasca Hall opened in September 1911. By this time, the University had 129 students and 12 faculty members, and the library had 7000 volumes. The scope of the University had broadened from the original five topics – Classics, English, History, Mathematics and Modern Languages – to include Chemistry, Civil and Municipal Engineering, Philosophy, and Physics. Construction of a second residence, Assiniboia Hall, was underway. Departments of Biology and of Geology had been authorized and President Tory had the responsibility of finding faculty to establish these Departments.

1912

Assiniboia Hall was completed. Four cases of geologic specimens were on exhibit in this building.

Dr. John A. Allan founded the Department of Geology on September 1, 1912.

On June 4, John A. Allan received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (along with Norman L. Bowen and Stuart James Schofield), the first such degree granted by that institution.

On May 9, 1912 John Andrew Allan received official notification of his appointment as Lecturer in Geology at the University of Alberta

On February 1, 1912 the City of Strathcona merged with the City of Edmonton.

Registration for the 1912-1913 academic year was on Thursday, September 26, 1912. Lectures began the next day. The first lecture in Geology was probably given on Saturday, September 28, 1912 at 10 am. (Geology was given at 9 am on Mondays and 10 am on Saturdays in both the Arts schedule and the Applied Science schedule).

1913

The Faculty of Applied Science (renamed Engineering in 1948) and the Faculty of Medicine were instituted.

1914

Alan E. Cameron, M.Sc., was appointed as Lecturer in Geology and as Lecturer in Mining. John A. Allan was the other staff member in the Departments of Geology and of Mining Engineering.

Dr. William A.R. Kerr was appointed as the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Pembina Hall was completed.

1915

The first honorary D.Sc. is conferred on Walter F. Ferrier by the University of Alberta on April 28, 1915 in partial recognition of his contributions to mineral collections in Canada and specifically the University of Alberta.

The Arts Building was formally opened. The Department of Geology moved into the third floor.

1920

Dr. Allan acquired dinosaur specimens for the University of Alberta from the fieldwork performed by George F. Sternberg in southern Alberta. He also secured funds to hire Sternberg to prepare them for the University, and to continue work for 1921 and 1922.

Percival Sidney Warren joined the Department of Geology in the dual scientific role of paleontologist and stratigrapher.

1921

Dr. Allan sent George F. Sternberg and Department of Geology graduate William A. Kelly to collect dinosaurs in the Steveville Badlands along the Red Deer River. Their activities are preserved in one of the earliest motion pictures ever made about collecting dinosaurs (entitled Digging Up The Past, filmed by the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau).

Dr. Henry Marshall Tory founded the Scientific and Industrial Research Council of Alberta, later called the Alberta Research Council (ARC), in 1921. It was Canada’s first provincial research council and was located on the University campus. The Council was supported by John A. Allan, professor of geology; Norman C. Pitcher, professor of mining engineering; and John Stirling, the chief mines inspector.

1923

Ralph Leslie Rutherford, a mineralogist and petrologist, joined the Department of Geology.

1935

The Museums of Paleontology and Mineralogy/Petrology opened to the public.

1937

Alan E. Cameron departed to become Deputy Minister of Mines in Nova Scotia.

1945

The Calgary campus of the University of Alberta was established.

1946

Dr. Charles R. Stelck and Dr. Robert E. Folinsbee were brought into the department to help with the post-war boom in student enrollment.

1949

Dr. John A. Allan retired as Head of the Department of Geology, and was succeeded by Dr. Percival S. Warren.

Dr. John A. Allan retired as Head of the Department of Geology.

1954

The geology program of the University of Alberta at Calgary was led by Dr. Sam Nelson.

1955

Dr. Percival S. Warren retired as Head of the Department of Geology, and was succeeded by Dr. Robert E. Folinsbee.

1957

The Department of Geography, originally a division of the Department of Political Economy, was established with Dr. William C. Wonders as its first Head. The new department offered programs in both the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Arts in the areas of physical, applied and human geography, as well as a specialization stream in meteorology. It also developed the premier map collection in western Canada.

1958

The Department of Geology moved into the newly completed Agriculture Building.

1960

Gordon Williams receives the first PhD in geology from the University of Alberta.

The recovery of the Bruderheim meteorite in Alberta led to the founding of the meteorite collection by Dr. Folinsbee – it subsequently grew to the largest University collection of meteorites in Canada.

1962

The P.S. Warren Geological Society was inaugurated in honour of Dr. Percival S. Warren, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Geology.

1963

The Faculty of Arts and Science was divided: humanities and social sciences were assigned to the new Faculty of Arts, and natural sciences to the new Faculty of Science.

1965

The vertebrate paleontology program was established jointly by the Geology and Zoology departments with the hiring of Dr. Richard Fox.

1966

The University of Calgary was established out of the Calgary campus of the University of Alberta.

1967

Dr. Peter J. Smith became Chair of the Department of Geography.

1970

Dr. Richard St. J. Lambert became Chair of the Department of Geology.

1975

Dr. Ian A.N. Campbell became Chair of the Department of Geography.

1977

The donation of ~2 million invertebrate fossils (the collections of four major oil companies and a large consulting firm) in 1977 vastly enlarged the Paleontology Collection, and led to the establishment of computer retrieval systems for the cataloging of this collection.

1980

Dr. Nathaniel W. Rutter became Chair of the Department of Geology.

Dr. Robert G. Ironside became Chair of the Department of Geography.

1984

The Agriculture Building was renovated and renamed the Earth Sciences Building.

1985

Dr. M. John Hodgson became Chair of the Department of Geography.

The Agriculture Building was renovated and renamed the Earth Sciences Building.

1988

The experimental facilities of the Department of Geology were enhanced by the installation of the USSA-2000 "Superpress" that could achieve simultaneously pressures of 27 GPa and temperatures >3000°C. The instrument was and is a national facility.

1989

Dr. Brian D.E. Chatterton became Chair of the Department of Geology.

1990

Dr. John Shaw became Chair of the Department of Geography.

1992

Renovation of the fossil vertebrate displays in the Paleontology Museum was enabled by funding from the University Special Projects Fund, the Alberta Museums Association, and the Canadian Geological Foundation.

1994

Dr. Brian Jones became Chair of the Department of Geology.

1995

The Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences was formed from the Departments of Geography and Geology. The department offered five different undergraduate degree programs, four in the Faculty of Science, one in the Faculty of Arts. Honors and Specialization degree programs were offered in the Faculty of Science in Atmospheric Sciences, Environmental Earth Sciences, Geology and Paleontology (Honors only). A B.Sc General degree could also be obtained with an Earth Science major or minor. Students could earn a B.A with a major or minor in Human Geography through the Faulty of Arts.

1999

The Earth Observation Systems Laboratory (EOSL) was established as a centre of expertise in remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and has developed an international reputation.

2003

The Shell Canada Core Viewing Facility was established in 2003 with the gift of over 6000 m of drill core, twenty layout tables and associated funding from Shell Canada Limited.

The De Beers Laboratory for Diamond Research, which opened on September 15, 2003, was established by a generous donation from De Beers Canada.

2006

Dr. Martin Sharp became Chair of the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.

The Centre for Earth Observation Sciences was founded with researchers from the Departments of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Computing Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Renewable Resources.

2009

The Canadian Centre for Isotopic Microanalysis (CCIM) was established to provide access to one of the most advanced isotopic microbeam technologies in the geosciences, the IMS 1280 ion microprobe.

The Integrated Petroleum Geosciences program was inaugurated jointly by the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the Department of Physics. This industry-targeted program offers a Master of Science in Integrated Petroleum Geosciences.

ConocoPhillips donated funds for a Rigaku Ultima IV diffractometer to the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, greatly enhancing the X-ray diffraction laboratory.

2010

The Canada Excellence Chair in Arctic Resources was awarded to the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.

2012

The Planning program was launched in September, and offers a BA major in Planning with a broad focus on urban and regional planning and a BSc Specialization in Planning with a focus on environmental planning and the use of computer technologies in planning.

The state-of-the-art Arctic Resources Geochemistry Research Laboratory associated with the Canada Excellence Chair in Arctic Resources began operations.