David Forsyth

David Forsyth (December 15, 1852 – September 14, 1936) was a Canadian educator and soccer player and administrator. A member of the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame, he is known as the "Father of Canadian Soccer".

Early and personal life Forsyth was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1852. His family emigrated to British North America when he was one year old, settling in the village of Lynden, Canada West. Educated at local schools in Lynden, then Dundas High School and Galt Collegiate Institute, he went on to study mathematics at the University of Toronto, graduating with a silver medal in 1875. He was married to Augusta Mylius from 1882 until her death in 1912.

Education career After graduating, Forsyth became master of mathematics and science at Berlin High School in Berlin, Ontario, where he was the first science teacher in Ontario to introduce practical laboratory work for students. He eventually became principal of Berlin High School in 1901. The school became one of the most prominent in Ontario during Forsyth's career there; William Lyon Mackenzie King, a future Prime Minister of Canada, was one of his pupils.

Forsyth was also a founder member of the Ontario Football Association in 1901, serving as their secretary until 1906. He was president of the WFA from 1915 to 1920, and secretary again from 1921 to 1923. He was later made honorary president of the Dominion of Canada Football Association.

After his retirement from teaching in 1921, Forsyth moved to Beamsville, Ontario, in 1924, where his son Otto lived, and became a fruit farmer. He died in Beamsville in 1936 and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Kitchener.

Legacy Forsyth was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2000 as one of the builders of the sport in Canada. The Hall of Fame describes him as the "Father of Canadian Soccer".