Summer 1851
Logan creates a geological exhibit for the
Crystal Palace Exhibition in London. The highly praised display becomes
the standard for mineral exhibits worldwide.
1852
Logan supplies casts of animal tracks for a display by
London’s Geological Society, establishing the GSC’s interest in areas
other than mineralogy. Logan also writes a paper recommending a permanent
museum for the Province; the museum was expected to focus on geology but
include some human history material.
1854–1856
The GSC prepares a highly successful exhibit for
the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1855. Also during this period, a
government select committee recommends expanding the GSC’s work to
include a large, well-staffed museum.
May 16, 1856
The Province of Canada passes an act which,
among other things, enables the GSC to establish a Geological Museum
open to the public.
1862–1863
The GSC mounts its first "ethnological"
exhibit — a single display case containing First Peoples stone
implements, stone pipes, and a few fragments of pottery.
June 30, 1864
The Province of Canada passes an act making
permanent provision for the Geological Survey and its work.
May 22, 1868
The federal government declares the GSC Museum
collection to be "a collection for the whole Dominion of Canada".
April 28, 1877
The federal government makes the GSC part
of the Department of the Interior. The GSC’s official mandate is
expanded to include the study of modern flora and fauna, as well as
ancient human history, traditions, languages and current living conditions
in undeveloped parts of the country. It is also suggested that the GSC
and its Museum might be moved from Montreal to Ottawa.
1880
A small military museum is established in the Cartier
Square Drill Hall in Ottawa, providing the nucleus for the future
Canadian War Museum.
April to May 1881 — The GSC and its museum move to a
former luxury hotel at the corner of Sussex and George streets in
downtown Ottawa. The museum attracts 9,549 visitors in its first
year
far more than in Montreal.
1882
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) is established,
and vows to assist in collecting specimens for a museum of "archives,
ethnology, archaeology and natural history".
May 16, 1890
The Dominion government passes an act making
the Geological Survey a department in its own right.
1896
The Royal Society of Canada petitions the federal
government to build a new building for the "National Museum".
The RSC suggests that the Museum’s mandate be expanded to include
industrial and artistic material.
1897
The military museum in Ottawa is closed and its
collections are put into storage. Many items are transferred to the
Public Archives, particularly after the First World War.
1898
A GSC geologist publishes a survey on the state of
museums and private collections throughout Canada and Newfoundland.
With more than 92,000 catalogued specimens, the National Museum has
the largest collection of its kind in Canada at this time.
1899
Preliminary plans are drawn up for a new museum
building, although a site is not chosen until 1902. Construction begins
in 1906, and is largely completed by 1910.
April 27, 1907
The GSC becomes a branch of the newly created
Department of Mines. The GSC Museum receives approval to add anthropological
studies to its official mandate.
September 1, 1910
An anthropology division is established
in the GSC Museum with Edward Sapir as its head and first full-time
anthropological specialist.
Autumn 1910
The GSC and its museum occupy the new Victoria
Memorial Museum Building (VMMB) on Metcalfe Street in Ottawa.
1911
The National Gallery of Canada is given "temporary"
quarters on three of the four floors in the VMMB’s east wing.
1914
The GSC anthropology division now has a full-time
staff of eight.
1916–1920
The Parliament Building is destroyed by fire on
February 4, 1916, and most of the VMMB is allocated to the House of
Commons and Senate. Staff of the GSC are scattered among buildings
throughout the city, and its collections are put into storage.
May 1920
The new Parliament Buildings are occupied by the
federal government, and the VMMB is refitted for its original occupants.
1920
The GSC’s anthropological and biological work is
placed under the Director of the Victoria Memorial Museum. The GSC
continues to occupy its share of the VMMB.
January 5, 1927
The Governor General in Council designates
the Museum Branch of the Department of Mines as the "National
Museum of Canada".
1939–1946
The federal Topographical Services Branch
occupies part of the VMMB. This means closing all Museum exhibits except
those on the ground floor. Some staff are lent out to other branches of
government, or the military, for the duration of the war.
1942
The Canadian War Museum is formally established in
the Trophy Building on Sussex Drive in Ottawa, next to the Public Archives.
January 1950
The GSC becomes part of the Department of
Mines and Technical Surveys, and the National Museum becomes part of
the Department of Resources and Development. The GSC and the National
Museum remain together in the VMMB until 1959.
1956
The National Museum is divided into two branches
— Natural History and Human History. The Human History Branch
contains archaeology and ethnology divisions.
1958
Both branches of the National Museum are placed under
a single director. The Canadian War Museum becomes a division of the
National Museum of Canada.
1959
The GSC leaves the VMMB for new facilities on Booth
Street in Ottawa.
1960
The National Gallery of Canada leaves the VMMB for
new quarters on Elgin Street.
1964
A History Division is established in Human History
Branch.
1966
A Folklore Division is established in Human History
Branch. The Canadian War Museum moves to the former Public Archives
Building on Sussex Drive. A Science and Technology Branch is created
within the National Museum.
April 1, 1968
The National Museum is transferred to the
National Museums of Canada Corporation under the Department of the
Secretary of State. The Museum’s Human History Branch becomes the National
Museum of Man; the Natural History Branch becomes the National Museum of
Natural Sciences, and the Science and Technology Branch becomes the
National Museum of Science and Technology.
1969
The VMMB is closed for renovations; staff and
collections are moved to temporary locations throughout Ottawa.
October 19, 1971
The Minister of the Post Office Department
announces the establishment, within his department, of a National Postal
Museum.
1974
The National Postal Museum opens in the Sir Alexander
Galt Building in Ottawa.
1974–1977
The VMMB reopens to the public. The National
Museum of Man occupies the western half of the building; the National
Museum of Natural Sciences occupies the eastern half.
1982
Plans are unveiled for the construction of new
buildings for the National Museum of Man and the National Gallery of
Canada.
June 24, 1986
The National Museum of Man is renamed the
Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC).
1988
The material history collection and staff of the
National Postal Museum are transferred to the Canadian Museum of Civilization,
becoming the CMC’s National Postal Museum division. The philatelic and art
collection is transferred to the National Archives of Canada.
June 29, 1989
The new Canadian Museum of Civilization opens
in Hull.
January 30, 1990
The federal government passes the
Museums Act, disbanding the National Museums of Canada Corporation
and creating several new corporate entities, including the Canadian Museum
of Civilization Corporation (which came into effect on July 1, 1990). |
