Charles Hamilton Mitchell
| Charles Hamilton Mitchell | |
|---|---|
|
In office Preceded by
Succeeded by
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| Born |
February 18, 1872 Petrolia, Ontario, Canada |
| Died |
August 26, 1941 (aged 69) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Discipline | Civil Engineering |
| Fields | Hydraulic and Hydroelectric Power |
| Education |
B.A.Sc., 1894 D.Eng., 1922 |
| Alma mater |
University of Toronto Stevers Institute of Technology |
Charles Hamilton Mitchell (1872-1941) was a notable Civil Engineer and an Officer of the Canadian Forces in World War I, with the rank of Brigadier-General. He served in France, Italy, and England during the war as an Intelligence Officer, winning a number of honours. After the war, he returned to Canada to serve as the 3rd Dean of Engineering at the University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. He helped greatly expand and improve the Faculty during his tenure, and served until his death in 1941.
Biography
Early Life and Education
Charles Hamilton Mitchell was born to George Mitchell and Agnes Becket in 1872 at Petrolia, Ontario. His father, George Mitchell, was a clergyman and a graduate of Upper Canada College and the University of Toronto in mathematics. He was the great-grandson of a United Empire Loyalist.
He attended the School of Practical Science at the University of Toronto, studying Civil Engineering at the School. He received his SPS diploma in 1892 and his B.A.Sc. in 1894. He later received a D.Eng. from the Stevers Institute of Technology in New York in 1922.
After graduating from the University of Toronto, he worked as a Civil Engineer (officially qualifying as a C.E. in 1898), specializing in hydraulic and hydro-electric power development. He took employment as the Assistant City Engineer in Niagara Falls and later served as the City Engineer. After leaving that post, he set up a Toronto-based consulting firm in 1906 in partnership with his brother Percival, working largely in hydroelectric power plant construction. He was responsible for the design and construction of a number of plants in the Maritimes, Ontario, and Western Canada.
In 1901 he married Myra Ethlyn Stanton, daughter of John N. Stanton and Martha Hubbs of St Catharines . They had one son, Donald Russell Mitchell in 1902, though Donald Russel survived for only 3 weeks.
Military Service and World War I
Mitchell joined the Militia in 1899. Prior to World War I, he served in the 44th Lincoln and Welland Regiment and the Corps of Guides. He was appointed General Staff Officer (3rd grade) on staff of the Headquarters, 1st Canadian Division. When the 2nd Division was formed in August 1915, Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell was sent to its headquarters as the General Staff Officer, 2nd grade (Intelligence), which was the senior Intelligence appointment in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF).
He became the head of the Intelligence Branch of the Second Army as a Colonel in September 1916, and in October 1918 he was promoted to Brigadier General and served as a senior intelligence officer int he War Office in London following posts in France and Italy. He returned to the Canadian Army in June of 1919, having won numerous honours and decorations, including French, Belgian and Italian awards. He was appointed to the Order of the Bath on June 3, 1918 while serving on the Headquarters of the General Staff of the British Army in Italy with the CEF.
Dean of Engineering
After the war he took up duties with the University of Toronto and served as Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science.
In 1924 he was with American representatives on the Joint Board of Engineers to study the feasibility of a St. Lawrence waterway.
Death
General Mitchell died 26 August 1941, and his wife 1 May 1958. Both are interred in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.