Memorable Manitobans: Albert Burton Gresham (1905-1941)

Journalist, naturalist.

Born at Perth, Australia on 12 March 1905, son of Jonathan Gresham and Henrietta Grave, brother of William Jonathan Gresham, he emigrated to Manitoba in 1910 with his family and was educated at Elkhorn School, St. John’s High School, and the University of Manitoba.

From an early age he showed a deep interest in natural history, especially birds, and he studied them across the Great Plains and in the Rocky Mountains. He became an expert bird photographer and took widely publicized photographs of migrating Blue Geese. He was a member of the American Ornithologists Union, Ottawa Field Naturalists Club, Wilson Ornithological Club, and Natural History Society of Manitoba, joining the latter in 1922 and holding a variety of offices. He worked for the Winnipeg Free Press for many years, contributing illustrated articles on nature topics, and also writing for other popular and scientific periodicals.

He died on 19 December 1941 during the Japanese attack on Hong Kong.

Sources:

1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

Obituary, The Auk, volume 61, number 3, page 511, July 1944.

Natural History Society of Manitoba, 21st Anniversary Bulletin, 1920 to 1941. Natural History Society of Manitoba.

Death registration [W. J. Gresham], British Columbia Vital Statistics.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 26 June 2022

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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