Memorable Manitobans: George Edgar Atkinson (1870-1913)

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George Edgar Atkinson
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Naturalist, taxidermist.

Born at Toronto, Ontario in May 1870, he came to Manitoba in 1883, eventually settling at Portage la Prairie where he operated a taxidermist shop and was a member of the Canadian Order of Foresters and Order of Elks. On 25 June 1913, while taking his annual boat trip to observe birds along the Assiniboine River from Brandon to Portage, he is believed to have suffered an epileptic seizure, fallen overboard, and drowned. Police officers, led by several boys who were swimming in the river, found his body some ten miles east of Glenboro on 29 June 1913.

His articles for the Manitoba Historical Society:

The Game Birds of Manitoba
MHS Transactions, Series 1, Number 51, 1898

Manitoba Birds of Prey, and the Small Mammals Destroyed by Them
MHS Transactions, Series 1, Number 53, 1899

Insectivorous Birds of Manitoba
MHS Transactions, Series 1, Number 60, 1903

Rare Bird Records of Manitoba
MHS Transactions, Series 1, Number 65, 1904

A Review-History of the Passenger Pigeon of Manitoba
MHS Transactions, Series 1, Number 68, 1905

See also:

Fire, Folly and Fiasco: Why it took 100 Years to Build the Manitoba Museum by James A. Burns, Woolly Mammoth Publishing, 2020.

Sources:

1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

“Atkinson’s body recovered,” Manitoba Free Press, 30 June 1913, page 1.

“Geo. Atkinson’s body found,” Winnipeg Tribune, 30 June 1913, page 6.

Pioneers and Early Citizens of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Manitoba Library Association, 1971.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Jim Burns.

Page revised: 22 June 2021

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

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