Over the years, Sandy Hill attracted a wide variety of residents who were already or would become famous, including scientists, athletes, architects and war heroes. Several of them are featured below.
Annie Pootoogook
1969 – 2016 An artist, Annie Pootoogook lived for several years in Sandy Hill. Annie Pootoogook was born in Cape Dorset, Nunavut in an extraordinary artistic family. Her father, Eegyvadluk, was a talented carver and... Read More
Vitaly Gregorievich Pavlov (1914 – 2005)
Pavlov was a Soviet spy. Pavlov lived at 77 Marlborough between 1942-1945 in a house whose exterior is little changed from the 1940s. Officially Second Secretary at the Soviet Embassy nearby, Pavlov was in fact... Read More
Henri-Marc Ami
1858-1931 Canadian geologist and paleontologist Ami lived at 453 Laurier Ave. E. between 1907 and 1921. Son of a Swiss protestant missionary and a French mother, Ami studied geology at McGill University under the renowned... Read More
William (Billy) Avery Bishop
Billy Bishop was Canada’s top flying ace of the First World War, and was officially credited with 72 victories. He was the first Canadian airman to receive the Victoria Cross, as well as several other... Read More
Lois Frances Booth
1897-1941 Lois Booth was the daughter of John Frederick Booth and granddaughter of the legendary John Rudolphus Booth. J. R. Booth was a Canadian lumber king and railroad baron who also had several other commercial... Read More
Cameron Macpherson Edwards
1881-1959 C.M. Edwards was the sixth child of John C. Edwards (who built 345 Laurier) and a nephew of W.C. Edwards. Between 1920 and 1937, he lived at 407 Wilbrod St. In the 1921... Read More
Sir Sandford Fleming
1827-1915 Fleming was a true polymath although he finished his formal schooling at the age of 14. He was in turn a surveyor, a lithographer, a map-maker and an engineer. He was also a... Read More
Eva Gauthier
1885 – 1958 Gauthier was a rare classically-trained Canadian singer to achieve international fame in the early 20th C. She adapted her wide vocal range to sing opera, folk songs and jazz. Eva Gauthier was... Read More
Malak Karsh
1915-2001 Malak Karsh was an internationally-known photographer. Karsh and his wife Barbara lived at 292 Laurier Ave. E. (corner of Russell Ave.) for five years between 1980 and 1985. While Karsh’s older brother... Read More
Frank McGee
1882 – 1916 A member of the Ottawa Silver Seven, Frank ”One-eyed” McGee scored 14 goals in a Stanley Cup play-off game in 1905 and was considered one of the best hockey players of... Read More
Werner Noffke
1878 – 1964 Noffke has been described as one of Ottawa’s most influential and prolific architects, designing over 200 buildings in and around Ottawa (he built several more further afield). An observer wrote that “one... Read More
Philip D. Ross
1858 – 1949 Avid sportsman, newspaperman, businessman and politician, Ross played an influential role in the development of hockey in Ottawa. Born in Montreal, Ross moved to Ottawa in 1885 and after a few years... Read More
Barbara Ann Scott
1928-2012 In 1948, 19 year-old Barbara Ann Scott won Canada’s first-ever gold medal in singles figure skating at the Olympics in St Moritz (Switzerland). Scott received the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s athlete of... Read More
Francis C. Sullivan
1882 – 1929 A student and later associate of famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Sullivan introduced the modernist Prairie School of architecture to Canada. An architect of undoubted talent and energy, Sullivan’s career was... Read More
Antonio (1887 -1974) and Adine Tremblay (c1892 – 1986)
Antonio and his wife Adine lived at 214 Cobourg St. between 1938 and 1957 (they had lived at 535 Besserer St. for at least ten years before that). Antonio worked as a translator for the... Read More
Emma Woikin
When Igor Gouzenko defected from the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa in September 1945, Emma Woikin was one of the 22 Canadians he named as spies. Woikin was the first to plead guilty, the first to... Read More
Alexander S. Woodburn
1830 -1904 Born in Ireland, Alexander “Alex” Smith Woodburn was a prominent Ottawa businessman and philanthropist and the founder of the Ottawa Journal. Between 1898 and 1904, Woodburn lived at 46 Henderson Ave. ... Read More
George Penrose Woollcombe
1867 – 1951 An educator and clergyman with uncommon vision and energy, Woollcombe founded Ashbury College and directed it for its first 42 years. Ashbury today is recognized as one of the finest private schools... Read More