Canada’s Information Era Began at U of T
A room-sized machine that could do calculations faster than humans first took shape here 75 years ago
Campus
The Einstein Camera
A century ago, a U of T astronomer led a small group of Canadians on a daring expedition to remote Australia. Their mission? To prove the Theory of General Relativity
Ode to Ingenuity
U of T’s collection of scientific artifacts shows how researchers pursued discovery – and sometimes made history
150 Years of Firsts
To mark an important milestone, U of T Engineering looks back at some of its boldest thinkers
Of Pies, Nuclear Plants and the Early Days of Co-op Education at U of T
Co-op started by launching grads into government – exactly as the program’s founders intended
Nite of Nights
An annual revue, written and performed by engineering students, lampoons its way into a second century
Three Ways Canada Celebrated Insulin’s 100th Anniversary
The game-changing treatment for diabetes patients was marked with a special stamp and coin – and a Heritage Minute
On Watkins’ Pond
Who built U of T Mississauga’s most picturesque spot?
It Got Better
How a simple sticker helped members of the LGBTQ community feel more welcome at U of T
Walk on the Wild Side
In 1976, a strange band of characters jostled their way up St. George Street with beat-up blackboards and battered chairs
Hart House Turns 100
U of T’s beloved student centre once had a flying trapeze. A century later, that spirit lives on
America’s Game Might Have Kicked Off at U of T
Almost a century-and-a-half ago, a group of students played a sport that looked a lot like gridiron football
Your Education Will Be Televised
A U of T library student delivers a high-tech talk
Velut Arbor ævo
The meaning of U of T’s motto
Bringing Up Baby
What U of T nursing students learn about infant care has changed a lot since the 1950s
It Was 50 Years Ago Today
Ken Luckhurst first set foot at UTM at the height of the hippie era. Touring a transformed campus with a recent grad, he finds not everything has changed
Margaret Addison Hall
This grad devoted much of her career to supporting young women at U of T, so Victoria University named a residence after her
Flight of Fancy
A young dreamer enjoys a test drive on U of T’s flight simulator
Seeing New Worlds
How two U of T graduate students built North America’s first working electron microscope
Outside the Box
U of T alumna Margaret Russocki was a leading modernist architect in Toronto – and one of the few women in her field
This “Bomber” Actually Saved Countless Lives
U of T alumnus Harold Johns pioneered a new kind of cancer treatment dubbed the “cobalt bomb”
Ice Queens
Hockey was one of U of T’s first women’s sports
Skule
Where did this misspelled moniker come from?
For Whom the Bell Tolls
The Soldiers’ Tower carillon creates a unique U of T soundscape
I Saw Him Standing There
How a U of T engineering student found himself on stage with the Beatles in 1964
This Side of Paradise
U of T grads and guests enjoy a University College garden party during Convocation 1930
Those Things We Do
Relive some of the wonderful, and occasionally weird, traditions that occur only at U of T
Some Enchanted Evening
How the Canadian Officer Training Corps Ball brought sparkle to Hart House
Seeking Refuge from Nazi Persecution, the MS St. Louis Was Turned Away at Every Port
U of T community members sought to help Jewish refugees during the Second World War
Roy Ivor Hall
A U of T Mississauga residence is named after the Birdman of Mississauga
A Room of Their Own
U of T’s first women’s residences launched lively campus traditions
6 Places at U of T That Just Might Be Haunted
Spooky stories? Yes. Evidence of ghosts on campus? You be the judge
She Walks in Beauty
Astronomer Helen Sawyer Hogg not only researched the stars, but explained them in a heavenly manner to students and the public
We Lived
One hundred years on, poppies still blow in Flanders Fields
John Lennon and Yoko Ono Rock Varsity Stadium
An iconic Toronto concert in 1969 heralded the breakup of the Beatles and the launch of new acts
Where Do You Go, My Lovelies?
Fred and Norah Urquhart's lifelong quest for the hidden kingdom of the Monarch butterfly
Anatomy of an Illustrator
Artist Maria Torrence Wishart founded U of T’s 90-year-old medical illustration department, now a thriving master’s program
Memories of Gull Lake
Why learning to survey is an unforgettable experience for University of Toronto engineers
Winter Kept Us Warm
Canada’s first feature film with a gay theme
The Spy Among Us
U of T prof Pat Bayly headed up North America’s first spy school and developed an “unbreakable” cipher machine during the Second World War
Doctor of Courage
Rejected by American universities, Alexander Augusta completed his medical degree at Trinity Medical College then used his skills to fight for civil rights in his homeland
Lights! Action! Learning!
UTSC was ahead of its time in pioneering lectures-through technology
Changed by War
A century ago, the First World War changed Canadian society profoundly, and transformed the University of Toronto no less
Nothing Lacking But the Roar of Battle
Students trained in combat-like conditions in the basement of Hart House, with a trench and a painted mural of a Belgian village
Letter from the Front
A note home from Captain Frederick Banting illustrates soldiers’ tendency to downplay injuries and hardship
An Artist at War
A sculptor by profession, Frederick Coates, who also taught at U of T, used his modelling skills to help surgeons rebuild shattered faces
Farmerettes Help at Home
In 1917 and 1918 hundreds of U of T women spent the summers picking and packing fruits and vegetables, filling in for farmers who were away at war
Animals, the Forgotten Warriors
Millions of animals served on both sides of the conflict. Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae developed close bonds with his horse Bonfire and dogs Bonneau and Mike
Waging War on Infection
In 1914, 32 per cent of the British wounded contracted tetanus. The British and Allied command looked to the University of Toronto for help
Objects of Salvation
In the trenches the only criteria for alarm devices were that they be loud and distinctive – but as a bonus, rattles didn’t require use of the lungs
The Blue and White Society Cheerleaders
“Shout! Fight! Blue and White!”
New Sculpture Honours Norman Bethune’s Legacy
The U of T-educated doctor had a huge impact on health
Vision of Canada
Harold Innis’s fur trade research in the summer of 1924 launched a celebrated academic career
In Pictures: U of T’s Top 10 Beards and Moustaches
Beards are having a 2014 fashion moment! Still, U of T professors of the past could go chin-to-chin with even Toronto Blue Jay Adam Lind. Presenting: U of T’s Top 10 in facial hair.
In Pictures: Varsity Blues Men’s Swim Team Through the Years
The Varsity Blues men’s swimming crew are U of T's most decorated sports team. They have taken 62 provincial titles since 1920 and are the current champ. Their history, in pictures.
Game of Kings and Queens
U of T’s chess club – Canada’s oldest – is undergoing a 21st-century revival
Incredible Progress
A century of medicine at U of T
Paving the Way for the Information Highway
U of T profs are the first to send computer data across Canada
Domestic Doyennes
Household Science students learn the art and science of cooking
Blasts from the Past
Fascinating characters populate a new history of the Faculty of Arts and Science at U of T