Fleming, Sir Sandford

Sir Sandford Fleming was a Scottish-Canadian engineer and inventor, as well as the chief government surveyor of Nova Scotia charged with the construction of a rail line from Truro to Pictou. He promoted worldwide standard time zones, a prime meridian, and use of the 24-hour clock, all of which influenced the establishment of Coordinated Universal Time. He also designed Canada's first postage stamp, engineered much of the Intercolonial Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was a founding member of both the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Institute.