Donald Creighton
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Donald Grant Creighton (July 15, 1902-December 19, 1979) was a noted Canadian historian. Born in Toronto, the son of Methodist minister, he attended Victoria College, in the University of Toronto, where he received his BA in 1925. He then attended Balliol College at Oxford University where he received his MA before returning to Canada to teach history. Creighton belonged to an generation of Canadians were proud of the British Empire and his Anglophilia was often expressed in his books. In 1926, Creighton married Luella Bruce.
Creighton was heavily influenced by Harold Innis and took an economic approach to Canadian History. His main contribution was the development of the Laurentian Thesis, which described the basis of Canadian history by looking at the geography and the nation's dependence on the major centres. In Creighton's view, the failure of commercial elites to properly develop the St. Lawrence is what led to Confederation. His two most important works are The Commercial Empire of the St. Lawrence (1937) and his two volume biography of SirJohn A. Macdonald entitled the Young Politican and the Old Chieftain.
In later years Creighton turned to expressing himself in the media. An intensive Canadian nationalist his opinions have often been criticized, especially his alleged anti-Quebec views. Creighton felt that the position of the French language in Canada should be more or less what the British North America Act had prescribed. As such Creighton was not englamored about the changes such as Bilinguism coast to coast that were introduced in the 1960s. His last book, The Forked Road: Canada, 1939-1957, is a example of how some saw Creighton as being out-of-touch in his later years. An strong Conservative, Creighton's heroes were MacDonald and Sir Robert Borden, and he himself served as speech-writer for John Diefenbaker. He died of cancer in Collingwood, Ontario in 1979.
Creighton was regarded by many as the foremost historian of his day and his influence is still strongly felt. An excellent writer and story-teller, his books commanded wide public attention. Many of Canada's top historians studied under Creighton, such as Ramsay Cook and Michael Bliss, and Creighton's view of Canadian history is still often studied.
In 1967 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Brock University history professor Donald A. Wright is writing a biography.
Work
- The Commercial Empire of the St. Lawrence, 1760-1850, 1937.
- Dominion of the North: A History of Canada, 1944.
- John A. MacDonald, 2 volumes, 1952-1955.
- Harold Adams Inis: Portrait of a Scholar, 1957.
- The Road to Confederation: The Emegence of Canada, 1863-1867, 1964.
- Canada's First Century, 1867-1967, 1970.
- The Forked Road: Canada, 1939-57, 1976.
- The Passionate Observer: Selected Writings, 1980.
Reference
- Berger, Carl The Writing of Canadian History: Aspects of English-Canadian Historical Writings, 1900-1970, Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1976, revised edition, 1986.
- Cook, Ramsay The Craft of History, Toronto: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1973.
- Levitt, Joseph A Vision Beyond Reach: A Century of Images of Canadian Destiny, Ottawa: Deneau, 1982.
- Moir, John (editor) Character and Circumstance: Essays in Honor of Donald Grant Creighton, Toronto: Macmillan, 1970.