Mirko A. Usmiani was born in 1912 in Pag, Croatia. He moved to the United States in 1947 and obtained his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1955. He taught in the Classics Department at Dalhousie University between 1955 and 1975. During that time he chaired the Art Committee for several years, and was instrumental in the establishment of the Dalhousie University Art Gallery. In the 1960s Usmiani served as President of the Dalhousie Faculty Association and the Canadian Classics Association. He was the founding President of the Dalhousie Faculty Club (now known as the University Club). He died on 16 February 2002 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Betty Peterson was born in the United States in 1917. As social activists, pacifists and Quakers, she and her late husband, Gunnar Peterson, were conscientious objectors during World War II. They also participated in the civil rights movement in Chicago for 23 years and in Vietnam War protests before leaving the United States to settle in Halifax in 1975. In Nova Scotia Peterson continued her advocacy for the peace movement, especially with the Voice of Women for Peace and Halifax Society of Friends (Quakers), and also supported causes concerning the environment, feminism, education, nuclear disarmament, and aboriginal rights. She participated in several out-of-province crusades, which were supported in part by Canadian Society of Friends and chronicled in national media reports, including a 1988 trek to Little Buffalo, Alberta, to support the Lubicon Cree Nation's land-claim fight and a 1987 trip to Goose Bay, Labrador to stand with the Innu protesting low flying military planes. Among her many activities in Halifax were participating in ecumenical movements for social justice (with Kairos), protesting the 1991 Gulf War, and promoting an alternative People's Summit (P7) during the 1995 G-7 meeting held in Halifax, NS. In the early 2000s she participated in public vigils protesting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and was a founding member of the Raging Grannies, a greying band of activists who used street theatre to promote peace and women's rights. In most of these organizations Peterson had a major role such as organizing, planning, and keeping detailed records of activities, names, strategies and results. She died on February 24, 2018, at the age of 100, in Halifax, NS.

John F. Rogers was born at Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1904. He married Ada Duggan, and they had two sons and one daughter. He worked for the Halifax Herald and Mail as a shipping reporter and later as city editor. He then worked for the Halifax Chronicle as shipping reporter and following that as their news editor. He was active in the St. Mary's Young Men's Society and the St. Mary's Boat Club. He died in Halifax on 17 November 1965.

Joseph N. Rice was born in 1857 in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, the son of Timothy Rice and Mary Alice (Newcomb). He was a direct descendant of Beriah Rice, Sr., an original land grantee in Annapolis County in 1760. Little information is available about his life, but by 1881 he apparently had a photographic gallery in the upper flat of the old Bridgetown Monitor building. He later erected his own house and studio a few doors further down on Queen Street, and was reputed to be a popular and efficient photographer in Bridgetown for many years. He married Mary C. Allen in 1888 and they had two sons, J. Allen (b. 1888) and Victor (b. 1892). According to census records Joseph and family resided in Bridgetown at least until 1901. It is believed that his death occurred sometime between 1902 and 1909. His photographic studio was taken over first by Edith Crosskill and then by Georgia H. Cunningham, who purchased it in 1909.

Kathy Moggridge Kuusisto was born in Windsor, Ontario, in 1948. She completed her undergraduate degree at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, in 1970 and received her MA from the University of Essex, England, in 1980. She moved to Nova Scotia in 1971. From 1972 to 1975 she was employed by the Nova Scotia Museum as editor of The Occasional and coordinator of the national inventory of Historic Buildings. She also taught courses at St. Mary's University, 1978-1984, and at Dalhousie Library School, 1984-1985. From the late 1970s to 1985 she was an historical researcher for several different projects, and is currently employed by the Secretary of State in Halifax.

Francene Cosman was born on 14 January 1941, in Windsor, Ont., the daughter of McCarthy and Dorothy Machel. She obtained her RN in 1962 from Saint John General Hospital, then undertook post-graduate work in teaching and administration in New Jersey in 1963. She married twice (1) David Killam Cosman, an engineer, in 1964; they had two daughters; and (2) Aza Avramovitch, an architect, in 1998. The latter died in 1999. In the early 1970s Cosman was active in community affairs in the Bedford area, particularly in regard to municipal planning and development. She was a Halifax County councillor, 1976-1979; and the first mayor of the town of Bedford, 1979-1982. From 1982-1986 she was president of the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women; subsequently she chaired the Liberal Task Force on the Concerns of Women and wrote its major report in 1987. She was executive director of the Nova Scotia Liberal Association, 1989-1993. She was first elected as Liberal MLA for Bedford-Fall River in the general election of 1993, and was re-elected in 1997. She was appointed to cabinet in 1997 as minister of community services, also responsible for the Advisory Council on the Status of Women and the Disabled Persons' Commission Act, and chair of the Senior Citizen's Secretariat. In 1998 she was given the additional portfolio of human resources. She served as party whip and deputy speaker of the House. In the general election of July 1999 she chose not to run and retired from the legislature.

Herbert Clifford Creed was born 23 September 1843 in Halifax, N.S., the sixth son of George John and Susan (Wellner) Creed. He was educated in Halifax and at Acadia University, Wolfville, obtaining a BA with honours in Greek and Latin and an MA. He taught school in Halifax and moved to Fredericton, N.B., to become head of the English department at Fredericton High School in 1872. In 1873, shortly after the Provincial Normal School was formed, Creed became the primary intructor in the English language and literature section, retiring in 1909 after thirty-six years. Creed married Jessie Masters on 4 November 1867 and they had four children. In 1902 he received an honorary Doctorate of Literature from Acadia University. He died in Fredericton, 31 August 1910.

Mairi Teresa Macdonald was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1925, the daughter of Col. R. St. John Macdonald, MD (1880-1948) and Elizabeth Marie (Smith) (1895-1977). She received her early education in Montreal and obtained a B.Sc. in Agriculture Engineering, McGill University; MA, St. Francis Xavier University; and Ph.D. in Education, University of Toronto. For several years she managed the family farm in Pictou County, Nova Scotia (NS) and subsequently taught in schools and colleges in England, Ontario and Nova Scotia. She worked in Toronto, Ontario as director of counselling services and supervisor of M.Ed. students at Seneca College, and later as a part-time instructor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. From 1972 until her retirement in 1988, she was director of continuing education at Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS. During her professional career, Dr. Macdonald was a founding member of the Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women, the Metro Council on Continuing Education, and the Canadian Association of University Continuing Education; and was instrumental in founding Experience Unlimited and Elderlearners. She has been awarded the Canadian Silver Jubilee Medal, the Halifax YWCA Recognition of Women Award and an honorary degree from Mount Saint Vincent University. She died on March 4, 2017 in Halifax, NS at the age of 92.

John Alfred Irvine was born at Granville Ferry, N.S., 20 September 1868, son of Hugh and Martha (Mills). He was bank manager at Annapolis Royal and then moved to Halifax where he was employed by Nova Scotia Building Society, 1887-1906, first as clerk and later as accountant. In 1906 he moved to Calgary, Alta., where he established a successful real estate and insurance business. He was an avid amateur photographer, one of the founders of the Canadian Navy League, active in the YMCA and established a camp at Sylvan Lake, Alta., which was used by several boys' and girls' clubs. He married Mina Buckley of Halifax in 1901 and they had three children. He died at Red Deer on 18 July 1928.