Sir Erasmus Ommanney was born on May 22, 1814, in London, England.

He was a Royal Navy officer and an Arctic explorer. Born into a family of distinguished Royal Navy admirals, he entered the Royal Navy in 1826 at the age of twelve. He participated in the Battle of Navarino in 1827. In 1833, he passed his naval examination and was promoted lieutenant in 1835. In 1838, he went on an Arctic expedition in search of missing whalers. Three years later, on another Arctic expedition, he served as Captain of H.M.S. Assistance and found the remains of Sir John Franklin's expedition at Cape Riley, Devon Island. In 1853, Ommanney was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. During the Crimean War of 1854-1856, he commanded the naval force in the White Sea and the Gulf of Riga. In 1859, he was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet. In 1868, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1871, he was promoted to vice admiral and retired in 1875. He became an Admiral in 1877. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. He served as a Justice of the Peace for Hampshire and a member of the Thames conservancy.

In 1849, he married Emily Mary Smith (1818–1857), and in 1862, he married Mary Stone (1825–1906). He died on December 21, 1904, in Southsea, Portsmouth, Portsea Island, England.

Dr. William Silver Oliver was born on November 12, 1835, in Kilfinane, Limerick, Ireland.

He was a military surgeon. He studied in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and entered the Army as an Assistant Surgeon in 1857, serving mainly in India and Canada (Quebec and Nova Scotia). In 1873, he was promoted to Surgeon-Major and, in 1882, Brigade Surgeon. After serving with the 60th Rifles and witnessing the needs of infantry soldiers, he designed and patented the accoutrements worn by the Canadian military during the Boer War to redistribute the load to avoid back strain. He is remembered for describing Oliver's sign. He retired an Honorary Deputy Surgeon-General stationed at Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1883. In 1905, he moved to England, where he died after a long illness.

In 1872, he married Elizabeth Alice Galt (1849–1938). He died on April 27, 1908, in Farnborough, Hampshire, England.

Michael Oliver was born in North Bay, Ontario. He earned his B.A. (1948), M.A. (1950) and Ph.D. (1957) from McGill and also studied at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris. In 1958, Oliver was appointed Assistant Professor of economics and political science at McGill. He was promoted to Associate Professor and became Director of the French Canada Studies Programme in 1963. From 1966 until 1971, he was Vice-Principal (Academic), and he served as research director of the Royal Commission on Biculturalism and Bilingualism from 1964 until 1970. Oliver has also been involved in politics as President of the New Democratic Party. He served as President of Carleton University from 1972 to 1978, and since 1979 has been director of the International Development office of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.