Memorable Manitobans: Henry John Selwood (1936-2020)

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Henry John Selwood
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Geographer.

Born at London, England in 1936, son of Henry William Selwood (?-1981) and Elah Lucy Samuel (?-1978), his early childhood was spent in Herne Hill and Tulse Hill. He attended the Glebe Primary School and Wembley County Grammar School. The family came to Canada in 1955 and lived at Chilliwack, British Columbia. He joined them in Winnipeg in 1957 and attended Gordon Bell High School for one year. He spent two years studying Commerce at the University of Manitoba.

After completing an Honours Geography degree at the University of Manitoba, he received a Masters degree in Geography from McGill University (1968), and a PhD degree in Geography from the University of Western Australia at Perth (1970s). In the meantime, he had joined the Department of Geography at the University of Winnipeg where he taught urban geography until retirement.

He was married twice, first in 1961 to Anne Campbell MacVicar at Portage la Prairie with whom he had two daughters. John and Ann parted ways in 1987. He then married Katherine McLennan, his partner until death. He served on the Winnipeg Bach Festival Board, provincial land use committees, and was a member of the Urban Institute.

He died at Winnipeg on 31 August 2020.

His articles for the Manitoba Historical Society:

A Note on the Destruction of Upper Fort Garry
Manitoba History, Number 4, 1982

“The Most Lovely and Picturesque City in All of Canada”: The Origins of Winnipeg’s Public Park System
Manitoba History, Number 31, Spring 1996

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Mitchell House (45 East Gate, Winnipeg)

Sources:

“Engagements,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 August 1961, page 13.

Obituary [Elah Lucy Selwood], Winnipeg Free Press, 6 September 1978, page 219.

Obituary [Henry William Selwood], Winnipeg Free Press, 1 September 1981, page 74.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 5 September 2020.

We thank Katherine McLennan for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 26 December 2021

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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