Pilot, inventor.
Born at Killarney on 30 August 1911, second of six children of Rev. Daniel McIvor and Gertrude Margaret Bissett, nephew of Eliza May Bissett, in 1941 he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force as a pilot. After his military discharge in 1945, he and his family moved to British Columbia where he worked as bush pilot along the BC coast. In the 1960s, he purchased four Martin Mars flying boats and converted them into water bombers to fight forest fires, the first application of this now-common technology. He designed a probe that enabled the planes to reload their 6,000-gallon capacity in 22 seconds while skimming a lake surface. In recognition of his innovations, he was appointed to the British Columbia Aviation Hall of Fame and Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was inducted into the Order of Canada. He died at Richmond, British Columbia on 24 February 2005.
Birth registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary, The Chronicle Journal, 1 March 2005.
We thank Nick Atkinson for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 27 December 2014
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.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
