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John Palliser CMG
Born	(1817-01-29)29 January 1817 Dublin, Ireland, United Kingdom
Died	18 August 1887(1887-08-18) (aged 70) Waterford, Ireland, United Kingdom
Occupation	geographer

John PalliserCMG (29 January 1817 – 18 August 1887) was an Irish-borngeographer andexplorer. Following his service in the Waterford Militia and hunting excursions to the North American prairies, he led theBritish North American Exploring Expedition which investigated the geography, climate and ecology of what would later becomewestern Canada.

Born inDublin, Ireland, he was the son of ColonelWray Palliser and a brother of Major SirWilliam Palliser (1830–1882), all descendants of DrWilliam Palliser,Archbishop of Cashel (1644–1726).

From 1839 to 1863, Palliser served in the Waterford Militia, eventually with the rank of captain. He was also appointedHigh Sheriff of County Waterford for 1844–45. During a hunting expedition inBritish North America in 1847, Palliser wroteSolitary Rambles and Adventures of a Hunter in the Prairies, first published in 1853. He travelled back to British North America as leader of the British North American Exploring Expedition, which travelled over the uncharted regions of the far west between 1857 and 1861. He made a topographicaldelimitation of the boundary between British North America and the United States, fromLake Superior to the coast of thePacific Ocean. He was assisted by astronomer LieutenantThomas Blakiston of theRoyal Artillery, botanistEugène Bourgeau and geologist DrJames Hector.

While travelling he explored a few rivers:

• White Fish River
• Kaministiquia River
• North Saskatchewan River
• South Saskatchewan River
• Red River

In 1859 Palliser was awarded the Patron's Gold Medal of theRoyal Geographical Society for his Survey of the Rocky Mountains. He returned to Ireland in 1862 and presented his findings to theBritish Parliament.

The information contained in his survey was instrumental in ending theHudson's Bay Company's ownership ofRupert's Land (lands encompassing all tributaries toHudson Bay) with theDeed of Surrender, which came into effect in 1870. While Palliser is credited with opening up a new era of settlement and development in theCanadian West, his warnings about the unsuitability to agricultural development of the area now known asPalliser's Triangle went unheeded. Palliser reported that the region including what is now southeasternAlberta and southwesternSaskatchewan, was too arid for farming. The area was nevertheless settled for farming, but was devastated in theDust Bowl drought.^[1]

In 1869 he travelled toNovaya Zemlya inRussia with another brother,Frederick Palliser, aboard the shipSampson.

Palliser was named a Companion of theOrder of St. Michael and St. George (CMG) in the1877 Birthday Honours. He never married and retired to Ireland, where he spent the rest of his life caring for his family. He died at his house, Comeragh House, Mahon Bridge, in CountyWaterford, Ireland in 1887. He is buried in the graveyard of Comeragh Church, Briska,Kilmacthomas,County Waterford. The Alberta administration has placed a plaque on his grave in commemoration of his achievements.

TheFairmont Palliser Hotel and the neighbourhood ofPalliser inCalgary, Alberta, are named after him, as are thePalliser Range, Palliser Regional School Division andPalliser Formation of theCanadian Rockies. The University of Calgary undergraduate Geography club is named the Palliser Club. The railway station named Palliser located at mile 22.4 onCPKC Mountain subdivision is named after Captain Palliser.

• Solitary rambles and adventures of a hunter in the prairies (1853)
• Papers relative to the exploration by Captain Palliser of that portion of British North America which lies between the northern branch of the River Saskatchewan and the frontier of the United States; and between the Red River and Rocky Mountains (1859)
• The solitary hunter, or, Sporting adventures in the prairies (1860)
• Further papers relative to the exploration by the expedition under Captain Palliser of that portion of British North America which lies between the northern branch of the River Saskatchewan and the frontier of the United States; and between the Red River and the Rocky Mountains, and thence to the Pacific Ocean (1860)
• Exploration - British North America: The journals, detailed reports, and observations relative to the exploration, by Captain Palliser, of that portion of British North America, which, in latitude, lies between the British boundary line and the height of land or watershed of the northern or frozen ocean respectively, and in longitude, between the western shore of Lake Superior and the Pacific Ocean during the years 1857, 1858, 1859, and 1860 (1863)

• James McKay

• Biography at theDictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• John Palliser Timeline
• Palliser photos at WaterfordCountyImages.org

• 1817 births
• 1887 deaths
• Scientists from Dublin (city)
• 19th-century Anglo-Irish people
• British Militia officers
• Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
• Explorers of Canada
• Pre-Confederation Saskatchewan people
• High sheriffs of County Waterford
• Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
• Irish explorers of North America
• 19th-century Irish explorers

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