A U of T's-Eye View of Canadian History

Women's Studies seminar at Innis College, led by Ceta Ramkhalawansingh, 1975.

In 1867, Oronhyatekha graduated from the University of Toronto with an MD degree. His story of success is an inspiration: this alumnus from the Mohawk of the Six Nations had already become the first Indigenous person to attend Oxford University, and now he would go on to become Canada's second-ever Indigenous doctor.

In later life, as head of the International Order of Foresters (today the Independent Order of Foresters), he grew the group to the largest fraternal organization in North America with a membership of more than 250,000…and he changed the rules to admit women.

The way Oronhyatekha conquered obstacles and focused on compassion and inclusion exemplifies the best of what Canada can be. No wonder his story is one of the first entries in a unique timeline commemorating Canada 150 celebrations.

The timeline, a collection of images and documents held in campus archives and special collections, offers a fascinating look at the last century and a half through the lens of the alumni, scholars and others who shaped Canada.

Browse images of the first Grey Cup game in 1909 (won by Varsity Blues!) or an 1887 hand-drawn atlas of the Northwest Passage.

Read an article on Hart House catalyzing a women's rights movement in 1957, or the telegram alerting Frederick Banting to his 1923 Nobel Prize win.

Watch a 1942 film about the invention of the G-suit for pilots by Prof. Wilbur Franks.

Dip into history!