Prior to colonization, Hamilton was occupied by theChonnonton, or Attiwandaronk, an Iroquois-speaking nation referred to by French explorers as the "Neutral" people.^[1] Since then, there have been successive waves of immigration.

Hamilton, from the point at which it was firstcolonized by settlers, has benefited from its geographical proximity to major land and watertransportation routes along theNiagara Peninsula andLake Ontario. Its strategic importance has created a richmilitary history which the city preserves.

Tension between maximizing economic growth and minimizing environmental damage was evident, even from the city's early development. The area betweenBurlington Bay (also known as Hamilton Harbour) and theNiagara Escarpment has been greatly altered for residential, industrial and recreational purposes.Cootes Paradise inDundas also known as the Dundas Marsh, was a very rich wetland with plenty offish,birds and other game. Cootes Paradise was named after Captain Thomas Coote,^[2] a British army officer of Irish extraction who was stationed in the area at the time of the American revolutionary war in the 18th century. The richness of the valley led to population, and to degradation of the marsh, although its legal protection, starting in the 1880s, and the efforts of civic officials and others, have led to it still being of great environmental importance in the 21st century.

For about a century after achieving its status as a city in 1846, Hamilton has seen itself in terms of industrial production. It adopted or acquired such nicknames as theAmbitious City,Steel City and theBirmingham of Canada. However, after this period, other sectors of theeconomy took over and Hamilton became apost-industrial economy but failed to change its image and self-image to match. Here then follows the growth of the Hamilton until the end of theSecond World War.

Like most of theAmericas, the original inhabitants of the Hamilton area were Native North American Aboriginal peoples. The first European to visit what is now Hamilton was probablyÉtienne Brûlé in 1616.Lasalle also visited the area, a fact commemorated at a park in nearbyBurlington.^[3]

In pre-colonial times, theNeutral Nation occupied most of the land but were gradually driven out by theIroquois who were allied withBritish against theFrench and theirHuron allies. A member of the Iroquois Confederacy provided both the route and name forMohawk Road onHamilton Mountain and the route for what would becomeKing Street in the Lower City.

LikeBritish North America itself, the Six Nations confederacy was torn apart by theAmerican Revolution. Indigenous groups loyal tothe Crown, under their leader CaptainJoseph Brant, were settled in several nearby areas of what becameUpper Canada in 1791 and ultimatelyOntario in 1867. These included Brant’s Ford (nowBrantford) on theGrand River inBrant County south of Hamilton, and Brant’s Block (nowBurlington) in Halton County north of Hamilton.^[4]

TheUnited Empire Loyalists moved into the Hamilton area during and after the American War of Independence as well, dramatically boosting the population and economic development of the region between the original Upper Canadian capital at Newark (nowNiagara-on-the-Lake) and the new one at York (nowToronto).^[5] This was to prove crucial, for the fighting between the United States and Britain was not yet over.

Administratively, the whole area was part of theNassau District, which was renamed the Home District in 1792. Additionally, parts of the area were separately incorporated into the West Riding ofYork County and First Riding ofLincoln County. In 1798, most of the future Hamilton became part of Niagara District while remaining in Lincoln County.^[6]

The town of Hamilton was conceived byGeorge Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after theWar of 1812.^[4] Nathaniel Hughson, a property owner to the north, cooperated with George Hamilton to prepare a proposal for a courthouse and jail on Hamilton's property. Hamilton offered the land to the crown for the future site.James Durand, the local Member of the British Legislative Assembly, was empowered by Hughson and Hamilton to sell property holdings which later became the site of the town. As he had been instructed, Durand circulated the offers at York during a session of the Legislative Assembly and a newGore District was established of which the Hamilton town site was a member. As such, Hamilton's future seemed to be shaped by a private collaboration of Hamilton, Hughson and Durand.^[7]

Initially the Town of Hamilton was not the dominant center of theGore District. A permanent jail was not constructed until 1832 when a cut-stone design was completed on one of the two squares created in 1816, Prince's Square.^[7] Subsequently, the first police board and the town limits were defined by statute on February 13 of 1833.^[8]

After simmering treaty and border disputes finally erupted into theWar of 1812, the Hamilton area again became a strategic area. In 1813, the British regulars and Canadian militia defeated invading American troops at theBattle of Stoney Creek which was fought in what is now a park ineastern Hamilton. Burlington Heights, adjacent to the grounds of present-day Dundurn Park and Castle, was also a site commanding the entry toBurlington Bay.^[9]

George Hamilton, a settler and localpolitician, established a town site in the northern portionBarton Township after the war in 1815. He kept several east–west roads which were originally Indian trails, but the north–south streets were on a regular grid pattern. Streets were designated "East" or "West" if they crossedJames Street or King’s Highway No. 6. Streets were designated "North" or "South" if they crossedKing Street or King’s Highway No. 8.^[4]

Gore Park, whose western boundary isKing andJames Streets, formed the public square for the new settlement and has remained the centre of the city ever since. The original plot of land set aside for thecourthouse has had four different buildings erected on it. It was only supplanted as the court site by a move across the street in the 1990s as part of an architectural preservation project for the Post Office andDominion Public Building.

Gore District ofUpper Canada andWentworth County were created in 1816, with Mr. Hamilton’s settlement as the seat for both. The county’s original constituent townships included the following, the territory of which became part of the amalgamated Hamilton in 2001:Ancaster (later a town), Barton, Binbrook (later one half ofGlanbrook), Glanford (later the other half of Glanbrook) and Saltfleet (later the town and city of Stoney Creek). Seneca and Brant Townships were also original constituents of the county but later became part of Haldimand County andBrant County, respectively.

During the first half of the 19th century, Mr. Hamilton’s settlement in Barton Township steadily increased status at the expense ofDundas. Growth was aided in 1810 by a channel cut to linkBurlington Bay directly withLake Ontario, thus improving its marine transportation. George Hamilton’s settlement was incorporated as apolice village in 1833. In comparison, theDesjardins Canal to Dundas was at best an incomplete success. The physical structures, with living interpreters, of these pioneer days are preserved at Westfield Heritage Centre.

Asrailway fever raced acrossNorth America, Hamilton prematurely got in the act with the promotion of various paper lines in the 1830s. This includedAllan Napier MacNab’s Hamilton andPort Dover Railway which, although chartered in 1835, did not actually lay any track until the mid-1850s under a different corporate name. MacNab completedDundurn Castle, his stately home, in 1835. A boy soldier in theWar of 1812, he led Gore militia to crush insurgents in theRebellion of 1837 for which he was knighted the following year.

Official City status was achieved on June 9, 1846.^[10]

As a result of municipal reorganization of Wentworth County, Caistor Township (earlier and later part of West Lincoln) was briefly added in 1845. Hamilton received its city charter in 1846. Seneca, Onondaga and Caistor Townships were removed from the administration of county and replaced with three others fromHalton County: Beverly, East Flamborough and West Flamborough (which were amalgamated as theTown of Flamborough 1974-2000).

Hamilton City Council was based on aboard of control, which effectively meant an executive committee of at-large city councillors controlled the city government. Mayors were short-term figureheads who changed mostly on practically an annual basis. The same year Hamilton became a city, Robert Smiley and a partner began publishing ‘’The Hamilton Spectator and Journal of Commerce".

As MacNab completed his two years as the premier of the unitedProvince of Canada, the newly renamedGreat Western Railway became Hamilton’s first functioning railway in 1854. Completion of this railway and the Niagara Suspension Bridge transformed Hamilton into a major centre and part of the Americanimmigration route fromNew York City orBoston toChicago orMilwaukee.^[4] Over two hundred miles of distance was saved travelling through what was then called CANADA WEST. However, because of the different gauge or width between the American and Canadian tracks, passengers had to switch trains at both Niagara Falls, then known as Clifton, as well as at Detroit. The GWR’s maintenance and marshalling yards were located in Hamilton, and the city got its first taste of the steel industry as it re-rolled rails imported fromBritain. Unfortunately, in 1857, 57 passengers were killed when atrain derailed near theDesjardins Canal.

Not content with this relatively minor operation, dozens of small workshops and craftsmen banded together to smeltsteel rather than just mill steel. Easy access tolimestone from theNiagara Escarpment,coal mined inAppalachia,iron ore mined from theCanadian Shield and export markets through theGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence system made Hamilton an importantiron andsteel producing city.

Other industrial ventures conducted in the Ambitious City (a phrase adopted by ‘’The Spectator" from detractors inToronto) and Birmingham of Canada included manufacturedtobacco,beer and other consumer products. It also became a centre for thetextile industry, which did not die out completely until the 1950s.

Long before theRoyal Military College of Canada was established in 1876, there were proposals for military colleges in Canada. Staffed by British Regulars, adult male students underwent a 3-month-long military course from 1865 at the School of Military Instruction in Hamilton. Established by Militia General Order in 1865, the school enabled Officers of Militia or Candidates for Commission or promotion in the Militia to learn Military duties, drill and discipline, to command a Company at Battalion Drill, to Drill a Company at Company Drill, the internal economy of a Company and the duties of a Company's Officer.^[11] The school was not retained at Confederation, in 1867.^[12]

When theDominion of Canada was created in 1867, Hamilton was an enthusiastic partner in the bold new political enterprise and preached the joys of theBritish Empire. The city was represented in theHouse of Commons by one seat for the city proper and two for the remainder of the county (Wentworth South and Wentworth North).

Growing commercial and industrial prosperity prompted large scale emigration from theBritish Isles. ManyIrish immigrants created a Corktown in the general vicinity ofJohn andHunter Streets. Patriotic Britons and native born Canadians of British stock erected many public monuments downtown to honourJohn A. Macdonald,Queen Victoria and theUnited Empire Loyalists. More people meant more demand for services and information. In 1874, the Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) began offering horse-drawnpublic transportation.^[13][14]

Robert Smiley, the founding publisher ofThe Spectator, sold the newspaper toWilliam Southam in 1877 as the first link in theSoutham newspaper chain. A unified and paid Hamilton Fire Department, replaced the numerous volunteer fire companies in 1879, led by fire chiefAlexander Aitchison.

The Hamilton area was also intimately connected with the early history of thetelephone. While staying at his parents’Brantford home in neighbouringBrant County,Alexander Graham Bell conceived of the idea of the telephone in 1874 and made the first experimental long-distance call toParis, Ontario in 1876. The following year, retiredBaptist minister Thomas Peter Henderson become the firstGeneral Agent for the telephone business in Canada. In 1878, the first telephone exchange in theBritish Empire was opened in Hamilton byHugh Cossart Baker, Jr.^[15] On May 15, 1879,Hugh Cossart Baker Jr. makes Hamilton the site of the first commercial long-distance telephone line in theBritish Empire.^[16]

More workers and new immigrants encouraged a nascenttrade union movement among skilled craftsmen. Hamiltonunionists and other working-class people gave birth in 1872 theNine Hour Movement, urging the government to limit working hours to nine per day.^[17]

A more modest but still unstable railway boom marked the last part of the 19th century too. TheToronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway was incorporated in 1884, and by 1892 offered limited cargo service and ultimately passenger service.^[18] Electrical railways which sporadically linked Hamilton withGrimsby,Beamsville,Brantford andOakville were established the following decade.

Modernization and business consolidation often went hand in hand withunionization. TheHSR converted to electrically poweredvehicles in 1892. In keeping with the area’s reputation, thefirefighters unionized in 1896.As it was absorbed byHamilton Electric Light and Power Company in 1899, HSR workers joined Division (now Local) 107 of the predecessor of the currentAmalgamated Transit Union.

But it was definitely not all work and no play for local residents. In 1894,Hamilton Herald newspaper and cigar store owner Billy Carroll established theAround the Bay Road Race. The route circumnavigatesBurlington Bay and, although it is not a propermarathon, it is the longest continuously held long distance foot race in North America. It was won by such sporting greats asWilliam "Billy" Sherring,Tom Longboat andSam Mellor.

Adelaide Hoodless and other founded the first Women’s Institute in Saltfleet Township (Stoney Creek) in 1897 and began her educational campaign forhome economics. A year after she died in 1910, one of Hamilton’s many new schools was named in her honour.^[19]

Hamiltonians, like other residents of the colonies, discovered one of the darker sides of British Imperialism when theSouth African War broke out in 1899. Men from Wentworth County and other Canadians volunteered to serve in theCanadian Mounted Rifles orNorth-West Mounted Police contingents. Although they excelled at the bitterguerrilla war there against theBoers, its conclusion in 1902 served as an omen for thefuture.

Ernest D’Israeli Smith, after being frustrated by paying to have his fruit transported from the Stoney Creek area, had founded a company in 1882 to market directly to wholesalers and eliminate the middleman.Smith & Sons Ltd. continues operating today, and has since the early 20th century has sold manufactured preserves and jams. Its namesake founder served as the Conservative MP for Wentworth around the start of the 20th century.

By the end of the 19th century, symbolically marked by the death ofQueen Victoria in the first days of the 20th century, Hamilton expanded to the approximate limits of the Mountain Brow to the south, Chedoke Creek to the west andGage Avenue to the east.

Through natural increase and immigration, the urban Hamilton-rural Wentworth population balance shifted so much that in 1904 the federal ridings were redistributed. While the total number of MPs remained the same, two were now from the city proper (Hamilton East and Hamilton West) and one represented the rest of the county.

Hamilton had a momentous year in 1906: local boyBilly Sherring won anOlympic gold medal atAthens for themarathon.^[19] The Amalgamated Transit Union struck against the HSR in a bitter labour dispute. The working class voters of Hamilton East, sympathetic to the ATU, electedAllan Studholme as their Member of theLegislative Assembly of Ontario. For years he stood as the lone labour representative in the legislature, championing theeight-hour day,workmen's compensation, theminimum wage andwomen's suffrage.

The steel industry continued to grow and finally consolidate through this period, some combining to form theSteel Company of Canada in 1910 and others theDominion Steel Casting Company in 1912. Stelco and Dofasco, as they became colloquially and then legally known, were located in the north end to take advantage of the transportation and cooling opportunities provided by access to the water.^[17] Industrial waste from the industries along the waterfront led to Hamilton Harbour becoming heavily polluted with industrial waste.^[20]

Hamilton's radial railway system became increasing unified. In 1907–8, the interurban railways' parent company reorganized and renamed itself to theDominion Power and Transmission Company, opening a new main station downtown at the same time: theHamilton Terminal Station. Passenger services were reorganized so that the different lines would meet there, while the older stations were largely relegated to freight service.^[21] Cars were increasingly operated on each other's lines, allowing single-seat trips such as from Oakville to Brantford without the need for a transfer.

The infant science ofaviation found early and enthusiastic supporters in Hamilton. Jack Elliot established an airport in the north end near Stelco which in 1911 hosted the first Canadian Air Meet. Pioneering aviatorJ.A.D. McCurdy won that contest, sponsored in part by the newly minted Hamilton Automobile Club (nowCAA South Central Ontario).

Emigration continued from Britain and theUnited States (chieflyblacks) during this period as local museums show, but also began from other countries such asItaly andAustria-Hungary. Remarkably, thousands ofItalian Hamiltonians are descendants of emigrants in this period from a singleSicilian town, commemorated by the dual naming ofMurray Street as Corso Raculmuto.

Increased population and prosperity prompted a building boom. As a publicity stunt and raffle, workers and contractors built ahouse in a day in 1913 which was later featured in aRipley's Believe It or Not! cartoon. The same year, theHamilton Public Library opened its new building funded by philanthropistAndrew Carnegie. (The site was renovated and now houses the Family Court.)

Hamiltonians participated in theFirst World War as combatants, but due toCol. Sir Sam Hughes' mobilization plans for theCanadian Expeditionary Force, there were no major battles associated purely with Hamiltonians. TheRoyal Hamilton Light Infantry later perpetuated the battle honours of four of these consecutively numbered Overseas Battalions of the CEF.

Heavy industry boomed as the Canadian and British governments' war driven demands for steel, arms, munitions and textiles increased. Unfortunately, in their quest to expand, the twin steel giants damaged the land by infilling Hamilton Harbour and burying or diverting many creeks which formerly flowed into the bay. War profiteering by manufacturers dampened some of the mood, but generally Hamiltonians pulled together.

The36th Battalion of Hamilton, Ontario, taken in 1915. Hamiltonians participated inWorld War I as members of theCanadian Expeditionary Force.

TheUnited Farmers of Ontario won the most seats in the1919 provincial election and formed acoalition government with theIndependent Labour Party.Walter Rollo, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Hamilton West, became the first Ontario Minister of Labour in this government.

The Hamilton Board of Education resumed its ambitious building program for schools. Their names often honoured the memory of warveterans: Memorial School,Allenby School andEarl Kitchener School. The educational building boom was coupled with a residential housing boom in which hundreds of low-rise apartment buildings, of three to four stories and six to ten units, grew up across the city, especially in the east end.

Higher education—disregarding itsnormal school or teachers college—arrived in Hamilton in 1930.McMaster University was founded inToronto as a Baptist institution of higher learning. Funded by a bequest of SenatorWilliam McMaster in 1887, it was in danger of becoming absorbed by theUniversity of Toronto. Hamilton’s municipal government, civic boosters and ordinary residents lured the university to the city with grants of land and money in 1930.^[22] Not only did McMaster preserve its independence, but it began publishingThe Silhouette student newspaper, now an award-winning weekly broadsheet.

Local boosters also ensured that Hamilton hosted the inaugural Empire Games, now known as theCommonwealth Games in 1930. Amateur athletes from around the British Empire and Commonwealth gathered to compete at Hamilton Civic Stadium, the current site ofIvor Wynne Stadium as a result of the efforts ofMelville Marks Robinson.^[23]

TheGreat Depression of the 1930s hit Hamilton hard. The simultaneous and prolonged decline in domestic consumption andinternational trade in finished industrial goods and building supplies put a stop to residential and institutional construction for a decade. It was in this context of privation that Dr.Elizabeth Bagshaw started her illegalbirth control clinic in 1931.^[22]

Emotional relief from theDepression was found in the Washingtons, local brothers who performed as abluesquartet throughout Ontario.^[24] Practical relief was found in government works projects designed to prime theeconomy and which added to the long-term attractiveness of Hamilton.

Thomas B. McQuesten, a Hamilton lawyer, alderman, andMLA, served as minister of transportation and chairmanNiagara Parks Commission from 1934 to 1943. He spearheaded the construction of theQueen Elizabeth Way, a controlled access highway which linksFort Erie withToronto via Hamilton, and the Mountain access forHighway 20 in Stoney Creek. He foundedRoyal Botanical Gardens, seeing the institution through from an early concept in the 1920s to incorporation and staffing in the 1940s.Whitehern, his downtown family home, now serves as a civic museum.^[25]

In theSecond World War, Britain decided to shore up its support in theDominions by having a royal visit toCanada. WhenKing George VI and his consortQueen Elizabeth visited Canada in May and June 1939, they stopped in Hamilton and also opened up theQEW.^[26]

Hamiltonians like others in Canada and the world welcomed the spike of economic demand caused by the war but not its source. Heavy industry again began spewing out its pollutants, and by the end of the war the ecological cost of pollution had taken its toll on Hamilton: heavy metals made fish from theHamilton Harbour inedible,air pollution made breathing difficult and industrial dumpscontaminated land.

Unlike the First World War, in this war theCanadian Army mobilized its territorially recruited militia units as a body rather than soliciting individuals to serve in conglomerated units. Men of theRoyal Hamilton Light Infantry (colloquially known as the Rileys) and the rest of the2nd Canadian Division were mobilized early, but sat on their hands in Britain for two years. The Hamilton area was also active in theRoyal Canadian Air Force (RCAF): the city proper sponsored 424 "Tiger" Squadron by buying bombers to equip it.

On the home front, the public not only eagerly followed the progress of the war, but they also got a chance to see airmen in action. In 1940, as part of theBritish Commonwealth Air Training Plan, theRoyal Canadian Air Force established a station inGlanford Township. Hundreds ofCommonwealth pilots and other aircrew were trained atRCAF Station Mount Hope, and some unfortunate ones are still buried there.

The army’s enforced idleness—disregarding their unsuccessful foray toFrance in May 1940 and disastrous defence ofHong Kong in December 1941—led to discontent in the army, the public and the government. In this atmosphere, the timing was ripe forLord Louis Mountbatten’s ill-advised and unauthorizedraid-in-force. The Rileys lost hundreds of its young men on a single day in 1942, when they were effectively wiped out as a fighting force atDieppe. In 1943, theHamilton Parks Police, aspecial constable force was formed.^[27]

When thewar finally ended, Hamilton was a much different place.Women had permanently entered the paid workforce. The lean times of the Great Depression were over—and veterans were going to make sure that happened.

People associated with Hamilton who became well-known prior to 1946 are listed below in the order of their birth year.

• Étienne Brûlé, (1592–1633), The first European to visit what is now Hamilton was probably Étienne Brûlé in 1616.^[4]
• Robert Land, (1736–1818), veteran of theAmerican Revolution and one of Hamilton's founding citizens.^[4]
• John Askin, (1739–1815), was a fur trader, merchant and official in Upper Canada.^[31]
• Nathaniel Hughson, (1755–1837), Farmer & hotel owner, Loyalist who moved to Canada following the American Revolution, one of the city founders of Hamilton.^[4]
• William Rymal, (1759–1852), farmer and one of earliest settlers on the Hamilton mountain.Rymal Road was named after him.^[4]
• Richard Beasley (1761–1842), was a soldier, political figure, farmer and businessman in Upper Canada.^[4]
• John Vincent, (1764–1848), British army officer in theBattle of Stoney Creek,War of 1812.^[4]
• Richard Hatt (1769–1819), was a businessman, judge and political figure inUpper Canada.^[32]
• James Gage, (1774–1854), Lumber merchant, miller. Gage Avenue in the city named after him.^[4]
• James Durand, (1775–1833), was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada.^[33]
• John Willson, (1776–1860) was a judge and political figure inUpper Canada.^[34]
• Peter Hess, (1779–1855), farmer, landowner.Peter andHess Streets in the city named after him as well as Caroline Street named after one of his daughters.^[4]
• George Hamilton, (1788–1836), settler and city founder.^[4]
• Henry Beasley, (1793–1859), was a farmer and office-holder.^[4]
• SirAllan MacNab, (Sir Allan Napier MacNab), (1798–1862), soldier, lawyer, businessman, knight and former Prime Minister of Upper Canada.MacNab Street in Hamilton is named after him.^[4]
• Thomas Stinson, (1798–1864), merchant, banker, landowner. He was an extensive landowner in not only in Hamilton but as well asChicago,St. Paul, Minnesota, andSuperior City, Wisconsin, which he named.^[22]
• George Perkins Boothesby Bull, (1795–1847), newspaper printer, publisher of one of Hamilton's early newspapersThe Hamilton Gazette (1835–1856).^[4]
• Edward Jackson, (1799–1872), tinware manufacturer.Jackson Street in city named after him.^[4]
• Peter Hunter Hamilton, (1800–1857), landowner and businessman + half brother of city founderGeorge Hamilton.Hunter Street in city named after him.^[4]
• Peter Jones, (1802-1856), known in Ojibwe as Kahkewāquonāby; Son ofAugustus Jones andTuhbenahneequay, Indigenous Methodist missionary and Chief of theMississaugas of the Credit First Nation, born on theBurlington Heights.^[35]
• Colin Campbell Ferrie, (1808–1856), Hamilton's first Mayor.^[4]
• Isaac Buchanan, (1810–1883), was a businessman and political figure inCanada West.^[4]
• Daniel C. Gunn, (1811–1876), wharfinger, locomotive manufacturer.^[4]
• James Jolley, (1813–1892), saddler, harnessmaker, politician. Funded construction of the Jolley Cut; a Mountain access road in Hamilton.^[4]
• John Rae, (1813-1893), physician, explorer. Discovered fate ofthe Lost Franklin Expedition; lived in Hamilton 1857–1860.^[36]
• Colin Campbell Ferrie, (1808–1856), Hamilton's first Mayor.^[4]
• Dennis Moore, (1817–1887), tinware manufacturer.^[4]
• Hugh Cossart Baker, Sr., (1818–1859), Banker, businessman, mathematician. Establishes the first life insurance company in Canada (21 August 1847); theCanada Life Assurance Company.^[4]
• Richard Wanzer, (1818–1900), sewing machine manufacturer.^[4]
• Thomas Mayne Daly Sr., (1827–1885), was a businessman and political figure in Canada West (later Ontario). He represented the riding of Perth North in theHouse of Commons of Canada and in theLegislative Assembly of Ontario.^[37]
• Thomas Bain, (1834–1915),Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons.^[19]
• Richard Butler, (1834–1925), editor, publisher, journalist.Butler neighbourhood in Hamilton named after him.^[19]
• George Elias Tuckett, (1835–1900), Tuckett Tobacco Company, Hamilton's 27th mayor.^[4]
• James McMillan, (1838–1902), was aU.S. Senator from the state ofMichigan from 1889 to 1902.^[38]
• William Eli Sanford (1838–1899), was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist, and politician.^[39]
• George Washington Johnson, (1839–1917), teacher and songwriter; author of poemWhen You and I Were Young, Maggie, later turned into a song.
• SirJohn Morison Gibson, (1842–1929), lawyer, politician, businessman.^[19]
• Clementina Trenholme, (1844–1918), Clementina (Fessenden) Trenholme, author, social organizer. Also, mother ofReginald Fessenden, the radio pioneer. Had two neighbourhoods on the Hamilton Mountain named after her,Trenholme andFessenden neighbourhoods.^[19]
• Hugh Cossart Baker, Jr., (1846–1931), businessman, telephone pioneer.^[16]
• William W. Cooke, (1846–1876), was a military officer in the United States Army during theAmerican Civil War and the Black Hills War. He was the adjutant forGeorge Armstrong Custer and was killed during theBattle of the Little Bighorn. Buried in Hamilton Cemetery.^[4]
• Allan Studholme, (1846–1919), stove maker and first Ontario Labour MLA.^[40]
• Campbell Leckie, (1848–1925), engineer.Leckie Park neighbourhood in Hamilton named after him.^[19]
• SirWilliam Osler, (1849–1919), 1stBaronet, the Father of Modern Medicine.^[41]
• Robert B. Harris, (1852–1933), businessman who establishedThe Hamilton Herald newspaper in 1889.^[19]
• E. D. Smith, (1853–1948), farmer, businessman and politician.^[22]
• James Balfour, (1854–1917), architect, Canadas Life Assurance Company building at corner of King & James (1883), City Hall on corner of James & York (1888).^[4]
• Robert Kirkland Kernighan, (1854–1926), poet, journalist.Kernighan neighbourhood in Hamilton named after him.^[19]
• Robert Stanley Weir, (1856–1926), lawyer, poet, author, best remembered as the author of the English lyrics toO Canada.^[19]
• Charles S. Wilcox, (1856–1938), First president of Iron and Steel Company of Canada, (later called simplyStelco), which was formed from five companies, including hisHamilton Steel and Iron Company.^[22]
• SirJohn Strathearn Hendrie, (1857–1923), wasLieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1914 to 1919.^[19]
• Adam Inch, (1857–1933), dairy farmer, politician.Inch Park neighbourhood in Hamilton named after him.^[19]
• Andrew Ross, (1857–1941), businessman, builder ofTivoli Theatre &Barton Street Arena.^[22]
• Adelaide Hoodless, (1858–1910), education and women’s activist.^[19]
• John Moodie Jr., (1859–1944), executive, hobbyist, drove first automobile in Canada in 1898; a one-cylinderWinton he imported from Cleveland, Ohio.^[22]
• Thomas Willson, (1860–1915), Canadian inventor, designed and patented the first electricarc lamps.^[42]
• Sydney Chilton Mewburn, (1863–1956), was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence from October 12, 1917 - January 15, 1920, under SirRobert Borden's Union Government in 1917.^[19]
• John Charles Fields, (1863–1932), was a Canadian mathematician and the founder of theFields Medal for outstanding achievement in mathematics. the Fields Medal, is considered by some to be theNobel Prize in Mathematics.^[43]
• Helen Gregory MacGill, (1864–1947), the first woman in British Columbia to be appointed a judge of the juvenile Court, a post she held for 23 years.^[44]
• Peter Wiley Philpott, (1865-1957), afundamentalist andevangelist, founded the United Christian Workers, a religious movement later known as theAssociated Gospel Churches of Canada.
• Julia Arthur, (1868–1959), was a Canadian-born stage and film actress.^[45]
• Walter Rollo, first Ontario minister of labour.
• John M. Lyle, (1872–1945), Canadian architect in the late 19th century;New York Public Library (1897), Royal Alexandra Theatre, in Toronto (1907),Union Station (Toronto) 1914–1921.^[46]
• Clifton Sherman, (1872–1955), foundedDominion Foundries and Steel (later calledDofasco) in 1912 (with his brotherFrank Sherman), creating a giant that would bring prosperity and identity to the city.^[47]
• Jean Adair, (1873–1953), actress. Although she worked primarily on stage (sometimes billed as Jennet Adair), she made several film appearances late in her career, most notably as one of the misguided murdering aunts ofCary Grant inArsenic and Old Lace.^[48]
• Charles William Bell, (1876–1938), Playwright, Politician and Rocco Perri's Lawyer.^[22]
• Florence Harvey, (1878–1968), Golf, Ontario Ladies Amateur Champion 1904, 1906, 1913, and 1914. Canadian Ladies Champion in 1903 and 1904. Founded and served on the executive of the Canadian Ladies Golf Association. Member of Canada's Golf Hall of Fame.^[49]
• William Sherring, (1878–1964), was a Canadian athlete, gold medal winner of the marathon race at the1906 Summer Olympics.^[23]
• Elizabeth Bagshaw, (1881–1982), physician and birth control activist.^[50]
• John Christie Holland, (1882–1954), In 1924, became an ordained Minister and served as Pastor of Hamilton's Steward Memorial Church. The church has been designated an historic site by the Ontario government because its solid history and connection to the infamousUnderground Railroad. 1953 was honored as Citizen of the Year in Hamilton, the first African Canadian to be given that recognition.^[51]
• Robert Kerr, (1882–1963), was an Irish-Canadian sprinter. He won the gold medal in the 200 metres and the bronze medal in the 100 metres at the1908 Summer Olympics.^[23]
• Thomas Baker McQuesten, (1882–1948), lawyer and Ontario minister of transportation.^[25]
• Rocco Perri, (1887–1944), 1920s Gangster. 'King of the Bootleggers'.^[22]
• Frank Sherman, (1887–1967), FoundedDominion Foundries and Steel (later calledDofasco) in 1912 (with his brotherClifton Sherman), creating a giant that would bring prosperity and identity to the city.^[34]
• Harry Crerar, (1888–1965), was a Canadian general and the country's "leading field commander" in World War II.^[52]
• Besha Starkman, (1889–1907), Criminal. Rocco Perri's wife and partner in crime. ("the Brains")^[22]
• Douglass Dumbrille, (1889–1974), was an actor and one of theCanadian pioneers in early Hollywood.^[53]
• James Lyle Telford, (1889–1960), was mayor ofVancouver, B.C., from 1939 to 1940.^[54]
• Florence Lawrence, (1890–1938),Hollywood's first movie star.^[22]
• Dick Irvin Sr., (1892–1957), NHL hockey player. Former head coach ofToronto Maple Leafs &Montreal Canadiens.^[55]
• Del Lord, (1894–1970), was a film director and actor best known as a director ofThree Stooges films. (Grimsby Ontario)^[56]
• Helen Kinnear, (1894–1970), was a Canadian lawyer. She was the first federally appointed woman judge in Canada.^[57]
• Frank O'Rourke, (1894–1986), ex-pro MLB baseball player and long timeNew York Yankees scout.^[58]
• Cecil "Babe" Dye, (1898–1962), NHL hockey player, NHL's top goal scorer of the 1920s, inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame in 1970.^[55]
• Harold A. Rogers, (1899–1994), was the founder of Kin Canada, is a Canadian non-profit service organization that promotes service, fellowship, positive values, and national pride.^[59]
• George Owen, (1901–1986) was a pro hockey defenceman for theBoston Bruins of the NHL.^[60]
• Robert McDonald, (1902–1956), was a Canadian soccer player from the 1920s and 1930s who spent a decade playing for famous Scottish football club Rangers.^[61]
• John Foote, (1904–1988), military chaplain and Ontario cabinet minister. Canadian recipient of theVictoria Cross.^[62]
• George Klein, (1904–1992), often called "the most productive inventor in Canada in the 20th century"; electric wheelchairs, microsurgical staple gun, the ZEEP nuclear reactor and theCanadarm.^[63]
• Red Horner, (1909–2005), ex-pro hockey player, helped Toronto Maple Leafs win their firstStanley Cup in 1932.^[55]
• Ray Lewis, (1910–2003), Track & Field, first Canadian-born Black Olympic medalist.^[23]
• Jackie Callura, (1914–1943), Canadian featherweight Boxer, World featherweight champion 1943.^[23]
• Harold E. Johns, (1915–1998), was a Canadian medical physicist, noted for his extensive contributions to the use of ionizing radiation to treat cancer.^[64]
• Jackie Washington, (1919-2009),blues musician and railway worker.^[65]
• Joe Krol, (1919-2008), Canadian Football quarterback (1932–53),Lou Marsh Trophy winner as Canada's top athlete in 1946.^[23]
• Syl Apps, (1915–1998), Legendary Toronto Maple Leafs captain who led the Leafs to 3-Stanley Cups.McMaster University Alumni. (Paris Ontario).^[55]
• Win Mortimer, (1919–1998), was a comic book and comic strip artist for theDC Comics superheroSuperman.^[66]
• Leo Reise Jr., (1922-2015), retired NHL hockey defenseman. 494-games played in the 1940s & 1950s for Detroit, Chicago and NY Rangers.^[55]
• John Callaghan, (1923–2004), Canadiancardiologist who pioneered open-heart surgery.^[67]

• Economic History of Hamilton, Ontario
• History of Ontario
• List of National Historic Sites of Canada in Hamilton, Ontario
• List of royal visits to Hamilton, Ontario
• Timeline of events in Hamilton, Ontario

• Heron, Craig (2015).Lunch-Bucket Lives: Remaking the Workers' City. Between the Lines Books.ISBN 978-1-771-13212-1.OCLC 894750861. An illustratedsocial history.
• Freeman, Bill (2001).Hamilton: A People's History. James Lorimer & Company.ISBN 978-1-550-28936-7.OCLC 46991381. An illustratedpopular history.

Many other websites contain some photographs and other documentation, but these sites contain primarily these.

• Canadian Souvenir View Albums (Hamilton, Ontario)
• Cultural Landmarks of Hamilton Wentworth
• Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario
• Postcards from Hamilton's Past
• Vintage Postcards of Hamilton, Ontario
• HistoricalHamilton.com, A Historical Photographic Tour of Hamilton's Past
• "When You and I Were Young, Maggie", lyrics to George Johnson's song

• Map.Hamilton.ca
• Ancaster Old Mill
• Weaver, John C. (11 March 2019)."Hamilton".The Canadian Encyclopedia (online ed.).Historica Canada.
• Haunted Hamilton
• Hamilton's Dark History Walk : Ghost WalksArchived 2015-05-31 at theWayback Machine

• History of Hamilton, Ontario

• CS1: long volume value
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from March 2020
• Articles with permanently dead external links
• CS1 maint: location missing publisher
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Webarchive template wayback links