Item 0004 - Letter, 2 August 1887

Born in Cape Breton, C. H. ("Bunty") McLeod received his Bachelor of Applied Science from McGill in 1873 as part of the first graduating class in this Faculty. After his graduation he took charge of the McGill Observatory, where he had been trained in his student days as an assistant observer. He also worked for the railways on problems of time-keeping, and for the Newfoundland government as a surveyor. In 1876 he joined the teaching staff at McGill, and rose to become Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science. As a scientist, McLeod's major work was done in connection with the McGill Observatory which he directed for over forty years. It was here that he established the exact longitude of Montréal in 1892. Under his direction, the Observatory became the base station for Canada; its time-signals constituted one of the most widely-distributed time services of the period.