Elkanah Billings is often referred to as Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

's first paleontologist. Billings was born on a farm by the Rideau River

Rideau River

thumb|Rapids on the Rideau River opposite [[Carleton University]].The Rideau River is a Southern Ontario river which flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is 146 km...

 outside Bytown(Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

), now known as Billings Estate

Billings Estate Museum

The Billings Estate Museum is an Ottawa museum located in the former home of one of the region's earliest settlers. The house was built in 1828 by Massachusetts born Braddish Billings. It is Ottawa's oldest surviving house, though the Bytown Museum building is older...

. His parents were named Lamira and Braddish Billings

Braddish Billings

Braddish Billings was an early settler in the Ottawa area.He was born in Ware, Massachusetts in 1783, but moved to the Brockville area with his family when he was 9. He later worked cutting down the white pine along the Ottawa River and transporting the logs down river...

. His family included an older sister named Sabra and an older brother Braddish II. His younger siblings were Samuel, Sarah and Charles. He was originally educated in law and in 1845, he was called to the Canadian bar. In 1852, he founded the journal the Canadian Naturalist (and Geologist). He continued to practice law until 1856, when he was hired to be the first paleontologist for Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). In his lifetime, he identified 1065 new species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 and 61 new genera

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

, including Aspidella

Aspidella

Aspidella is an Ediacaran disk-shaped fossil.- Morphology :Aspidella consists of disk-shaped fossils, with concentric rings and/or centripetal rays. The diameter of circular Aspidella varies from 1 to 180 mm. Most individuals are between 4 and 10 mm, however; smaller animals would...

, the first documented fossil of the Ediacaran biota.

He married Helen Walker Wilson in 1845. However, he was childless.

External links

• works by Elkanah Billings at Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
  
• Elkanah Billings: Lawyer/Journalist/Paleontologist Web article developed by the Law Society of Upper Canada Archives
  Law Society of Upper Canada Archives
  The Law Society of Upper Canada Archives collects and preserves records and other material that documents the history of the legal profession in Ontario. The Archives acquires and preserves records of permanent value to the Law Society of Upper Canada, the regulatory body for lawyers and paralegals...