Robert Ratcliffe TaylorThe author was born and educated in Victoria, BC. After attending Willows School and Oak Bay Junior and Senior High Schools, he studied at the University of Victoria (Victoria College), the University of British Columbia (B.A. History and English; M.A. History), Hamburg University, and Stanford University (Ph.D. History). In St. Catharines, Ontario, he taught European History at Brock University, where he is Professor emeritus. He has published in German architectural history and the history of St. Catharines and Victoria and has co-authored books and articles on the Welland Canals. He was a co-founder of the Welland Canals Preservation Association and founding secretary of the Canadian Canal Society. (He is an Honorary Gongoozler of Port Colborne, Ontario.) He served on St. Catharines' Local Architecture Conservation Advisory Committee, supported Heritage St Catharines and was active in the Niagara Opera Guild and Torch International. "Retiring" to Victoria, he has worked as a docent at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and has continued to be interested in the Welland Canals and local and architectural history. Two of his articles on Victoria's history have won prizes. Read More Read Less