Department of Geography
St. George Campus, University of Toronto
Sidney Smith Hall, 100 St. George St., Rm 5047
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 3G3

www.geog.utoronto.ca

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY & PROGRAM IN PLANNING
A BRIEF HISTORY

Geography at U of T:  How it all began
Donald Kerr, M.A., Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus

Although Griffith Taylor’s arrival in 1935 marked the inauguration of the Department, it was not necessarily the beginning of instruction in geography.Courses were listed in the calendar as early as 1906, when James Mavor launched his course “Commercial Geography” (later changed to “Economic Geography”), in the Department of Political Economy. Designed mainly for students in Commerce and Finance, it was taught for 30 years without interruption.Mavor was a strong proponent of geography and in correspondence with President Falconer argued for the establishment of a separate department. Upon his retirement in the early 1920s the torch was taken up by Harold Innis who had just recently completed his doctoral work at Chicago and had accepted an appointment at the U of T.

Through the 1920s three courses were offered in geography and by the early 30s Innis carried the title Associate Professor of Economic Geography.  Throughout, he continued to press for the formation of a separate department. President Falconer responded warmly, encouraging Innis to attend international meetings and contact American and British geographers in Toronto’s quest for a suitable candidate to head a department. In fact, by 1929 a decision had been taken to establish a department when the Depression intervened. Undaunted, Innis persevered. Joined by the new President Canon Cody and the Ontario Department of Education, which offered to pay part of a new Head’s salary, Innis was finally able to convince the Board of Governors to establish a Department of Geography in 1935.

In the early 1920s Innis had argued that an appointment in Geography should be a young Canadian with a strong interest in Economic Geography.After voluminous correspondence, innumerable face to face meetings with American and British geographers Innis realized that such a person was unobtainable, if in fact, one did exist. Increasingly he was convinced that the best candidate was Griffith Taylor, a middle-aged Australian with a strong background in physical geography and an outstanding international reputation, almost the exact opposite from what he envisaged originally. After reviewing Taylor’s background - his training in geology and mining, his post graduate work at Cambridge, his appointment as a meteorologist in Australia, his participation in Scott’s Expedition to the Antarctic, his work as Head of Geography at Sydney in Australia, and his recent appointment to the University of Chicago, Innis wrote to the President, “With his international reputation and strong connections in the United States, England (Cambridge) and Australia, Toronto and Canada would be placed at one stroke, in a position to develop the subject under most favourable circumstances. He has had a thorough scientific training from the geographic point of view and has gone over into the human side. He is an excellent traveller and his knowledge of Australia and the Antarctic would be valuable to work on Canada and the Arctic...he is a pleasing forceful and energetic speaker with ability to stimulate interest among students and audiences. Consequently he would push the subject in the schools where it is most needed and in the government departments.”

From the outset Griffith Taylor made a great impact on his students lecturing from one lantern slide to the next, long before there were any remote control carousels, his black gown flowing in the air as he walked from the lantern to platform and back in the darkened lecture hall. His colourful and provocative lectures aroused great interest through out the University community, as well as in the public sector. He expanded his research on environment and migration and began field studies on Canada culminating in the writing of a book.

The early years of the Department were characterized by the establishment of a well-rounded, scholastically significant undergraduate program. To achieve this Taylor made two critical appointments to the Faculty, Donald Putnam (1938) and George Tatham (1939).

Although Putnam’s doctoral work had been in Botany, he had a very strong interest in physical geography especially in soils and geomorphology, as well as in agricultural land use.He brought great strength to the Department in these fields, adding important elements to the curriculum and to the embryonic research program in geography.

George Tatham came to Toronto as a graduate in geography having attained first class standing in the Honours Program at Liverpool England and a Ph.D. at Clark University in Massachusetts.An engaging person and outstanding lecturer Tatham with his eclectic interests and genuine concerns for the welfare of students added much strength to the Department.

A third key person added to the Department in the early years was Mildred Brookstone, a first class Honours graduate from Toronto’s Math and Physics Program.From the late thirties, through to 1945 Ms. Brookstone, taught a course in mathematical geography, assisted Taylor in laboratory work and provided secretarial services.

Notes: For a superb biography of Griffith Taylor as well as more details of the early years of the Geography Department at U of T see, Marie (Lustig) Sanderson Griffith Taylor:Antarctic Scientist and Pioneer Geographer, Carleton University Press, Ottawa 1988.Marie Sanderson was one of Taylor’s first students (BA 1944) at the U of T.She went on to do graduate work in climatology, raise a family, receive a Ph.D. from Michigan, become a Professor of Geography at Windsor and subsequently was President of the Canadian Association of Geographers.In retirement she remains very active as a research professor with Environment Canada’s Adaptation and Impacts Research Group at the U of T.She has also received Honorary degrees from the University of Windsor, the University of Waterloo and the University of Lethbridge.

For an excellent account of the life of Donald Putnam and additional history of the Department at U of T see, Robert G. Putnam and Marie Sanderson Down to Earth:A Biography of Geographer Donald Fulton Putnam, Department of Geography, University of Toronto and University of Toronto Association of Geography Alumni,Toronto 2000.Copies are available by contacting utaga@geog.utoronto.ca

For a review of the role of Innis on the establishing of the Department see, Gary Dunbar, “Harold Innis and Canadian Geography”, Canadian Geographer vol. 29, No. 2 Summer 1985 pp 159-164.

Griffith Taylor died November 1963 at the age of 83.Donald Putnam died February 1977 at the age of 74,see Canadian Geographer Winter 1981 pp 386-388.George Tatham died in August 1987 at the age of 80, see Canadian Geographer Winter 1987 p 381.Mildred Brookstone Zacks died in July 1995.

University of Toronto Geography Staff, 1940.  Left to right:  Donald Putnam Mildred Brookstone, George Tatham and Griffith Taylor.

Some landmarks in the life of the  Geography Department at U of T

For additional information about the University of Toronto Department of Geography & Program in Planning, please visit: www.geog.utoronto.ca and for information about the University of Toronto Association of Geography Alumni (UTAGA), please visit: www.geog.utoronto.ca/webutaga/