Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe was born on January 7, 1833, in London, England.

He was a British chemist, educator, politician, and author. He studied at the Liverpool Institute for Boys and University College London. He then went to Heidelberg to work under Robert Bunsen, who became a lifelong friend. In 1857, Roscoe returned to England and was appointed the chair of chemistry at Owens College, Manchester. He remained at the college until 1886 when Victoria University was established. In 1881, he was a founder of the Society of Chemical Industry and first president of its Manchester Section. He also served as vice-chancellor of the University of London (1896-1902). He was a Member of Parliament for the Division of Manchester South (1885-1895). In 1874, he received the Royal Medal for his research on the chemical action of light and metal vanadium. He also researched niobium, tungsten, uranium, perchloric acid, and the solubility of ammonia. The mineral Roscoelite was named after him. He was knighted in 1884 and received an honorary LL.D. from the University of Glasgow in 1901. In 1909, he was sworn in the Privy Council. He was awarded the Franklin Institute's Elliott Cresson Medal in 1912. Roscoe was the author of several valuable books on chemistry, including six volumes entitled "A Treatise on Chemistry" (1877–1892).

In 1863, he married Lady Lucy Potter (1840–1910). He died on December 18, 1915, in Guildford, Surrey, England.

Robert Douglas Rorison was born on September 10, 1848, in Fitzroy Township, Carleton County, Ontario.

He was a businessman and philanthropist. He was educated at Belleville College and London Commercial College in Ontario. He taught school for several terms before entering the business. In 1879, he joined the great migration to the then-new province of Manitoba. He was first a grain dealer in Carberry and later began business as a commission merchant in Winnipeg, becoming its leading businessman. In politics, his sympathies were with the advanced Prohibitionists. He served as a Secretary of the Manitoba Branch of the Prohibition Alliance and an editor of The Banner, the leading Prohibition journal of Manitoba. In 1893, he also entered the real-estate business. In 1899, he moved to Vancouver, forming the firm R. D. Rorison & Son, handling city property and becoming interested in timber, lumber, and mining enterprises. In 1909, they organized the Royal Nurseries and Floral Company, Ltd. with a capital stock of one million dollars. He was a member of the Royal Templars Society and the good Templars Society. He generously supported the Young Men's and Women's Christian Associations.

In 1875, he married Charlotte Walford (1847–1909), and in 1911, he married Jane "Jennie" Kilby (1861–1941). He died on October 5, 1934, in Vancouver, British Columbia.