Redpath Museum
Encyclopedia
The Redpath Museum is a museum
of natural history
belonging to McGill University
and located on the university's campus at 859 Sherbrooke Street West in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
. It was built in 1882 as a gift from the sugar baron Peter Redpath
. It houses collections of interest to ethnology
, biology
, paleontology
, and mineralogy
/geology
. The collections were started by some of the same individuals who founded the Smithsonian and Royal Ontario Museum
collections. The current director is David Green.
Commissioned by Redpath to mark the 25th anniversary of Sir John William Dawson
's appointment as Principal, the Museum was designed by A.C. Hutchison and A. D. Steele. McGill University's Redpath Museum Web site characterizes it as an "idiosyncratic expression of eclectic Victorian Classicism
" as well as "an unusual and late example of the Greek Revival
in North America."
It is the oldest building built specifically to be a museum in Canada. Both the museum's interior and exterior have been utilized as a set, for movies and commercials.
, but procured many important specimens from around the world.
Dr Thomas Clark
, for many years up until his death, was a fixture at the museum and was renowned for his pioneering work on fossils from the Burgess Shale
, some of the oldest known anywhere.
and began with Sir William Dawson
's collection. It received further material from the Natural History Society of Montreal. It now has over 17,000 items from Africa
, ancient Egypt
, Oceania
, paleolithic Europe
and South America
. The collection of First Nations
artifacts that were once part of the collection now are housed in the nearby McCord Museum
in Montreal.
, opened in 1979 at their Redpath Sugar Building processing facility by the waterfront (which itself opened 1958).
, CHIN
, and Virtual Museum of Canada
.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
of natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
belonging to McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
and located on the university's campus at 859 Sherbrooke Street West in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, 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...
. It was built in 1882 as a gift from the sugar baron Peter Redpath
Peter Redpath
Peter Redpath was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist, closely associated with Redpath Sugar.-Biography:...
. It houses collections of interest to ethnology
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, paleontology
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
, and mineralogy
Mineralogy
Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...
/geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
. The collections were started by some of the same individuals who founded the Smithsonian and Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
collections. The current director is David Green.
Commissioned by Redpath to mark the 25th anniversary of Sir John William Dawson
John William Dawson
Sir John William Dawson, CMG, FRS, FRSC , was a Canadian geologist and university administrator.- Life and work :...
's appointment as Principal, the Museum was designed by A.C. Hutchison and A. D. Steele. McGill University's Redpath Museum Web site characterizes it as an "idiosyncratic expression of eclectic Victorian Classicism
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
" as well as "an unusual and late example of the Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
in North America."
It is the oldest building built specifically to be a museum in Canada. Both the museum's interior and exterior have been utilized as a set, for movies and commercials.
Geology (mineralogy)
Five collections, containing approximately 16,000 specimens from all over the world, are identified by their initial letters:- 'D' Doell collection for Dr Donald Doell, a physician who contributed many of the more recent material in the collection.
- 'F' Ferrier collection for Walter Frederick FerrierWalter Frederick FerrierWalter Frederick Ferrier was a Canadian geologist and mining engineer.He graduated from McGill University’s school of mining engineering. He was a tireless mineral collector and was known for walking straight into mining offices to request specimens. Consequently, he created large collections of...
, famous mining engineer who contributed this pre-eminent collection of minerals from many classic locations. - 'J' Jeffrey collection for Jeffrey de Fourestier, mineralogist and former volunteer at the museum.
- 'P' Palache collection for Charles Palache, mineralogist and HarvardHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
professor. - 'SC' Shirley Collection for the wife of Sir Hugh Graham Lord Atholstan who donated the collection in the early 1880s.
- 'NS' New System collection for the general collection catalogue. This collection contains the main body of specimens including the collection of the former Natural History Society of Montreal and specimens from the collection of Lord Strathcona.
Entomology
The Lyman entomology collections were transferred in 1961 by D. Keith McE. Kevan to Macdonald Campus in Sainte Anne-de-Bellevue, leading to the creation of the Lyman Entomological Museum and Research Laboratory.Paleontology
The museum's important collection of fossils owes much of its beginning to Sir William Dawson who provided not only many of the fossils of plants from his native Nova ScotiaNova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, but procured many important specimens from around the world.
Dr Thomas Clark
T. H. Clark
Thomas Henry Clark, Ph.D., FRSC was a Canadian geologist who is considered to have been one of the nation's top scientists of the 20th century. He was a professor who authored over 100 scientific publications. After his death, a mineral was named in his honour.Clark was born in London, England...
, for many years up until his death, was a fixture at the museum and was renowned for his pioneering work on fossils from the Burgess Shale
Burgess Shale
The Burgess Shale Formation, located in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, is one of the world's most celebrated fossil fields, and the best of its kind. It is famous for the exceptional preservation of the soft parts of its fossils...
, some of the oldest known anywhere.
Ethnology
The ethnological and archeological collection is one of the oldest in North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and began with Sir William Dawson
John William Dawson
Sir John William Dawson, CMG, FRS, FRSC , was a Canadian geologist and university administrator.- Life and work :...
's collection. It received further material from the Natural History Society of Montreal. It now has over 17,000 items from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
, Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
, paleolithic Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. The collection of First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
artifacts that were once part of the collection now are housed in the nearby McCord Museum
McCord Museum
The McCord Museum is a public research and teaching museum dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion, and appreciation of Canadian history...
in Montreal.
Toronto museum
Redpath also operates the Redpath Sugar Museum in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, opened in 1979 at their Redpath Sugar Building processing facility by the waterfront (which itself opened 1958).
Affiliations
The Museum is affiliated with: CMACanadian Museums Association
The Canadian Museums Association is a national organization for the promotion of museums in Canada.The Canadian Museums Association is the national organization for the advancement of the Canadian museum sector, representing Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internationally. The...
, CHIN
Canadian Heritage Information Network
The Canadian Heritage Information Network is a Canadian government-supported organization that provides a networked interface to Canada's heritage, largely through the World Wide Web. It aims to give access to Canada's heritage for both Canadians and a worldwide audience, by supporting the...
, and Virtual Museum of Canada
Virtual Museum of Canada
The Virtual Museum of Canada is Canada's national virtual museum. With a directory of over 3,000 Canadian heritage institutions and a database of over 600 virtual exhibits, the VMC brings together Canada's museums regardless of size or geographical location.The VMC includes virtual exhibits,...
.