William Frederick King 1854-1916

Born in England, W.F. King was a superb mathematician who promoted the systematic study of astronomy, geodesy and geophysics in this country. Through his initiative, the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa, the Geodetic Survey of Canada and the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria were founded. He extended geodetic surveys to western and northern Canada and helped to delineate the Canada-United States boundary. The world longitude network across the Pacific Ocean was completed under his direction. He was President of the Royal Society of Canada in 1911. He died in Ottawa.