Ernest Alexander Cruikshank

Ernest Alexander Cruikshank (29 June 1853 – 23 June 1939) was a Canadian military officer and historian. Specialized in military history, he was the first Chairman of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Early life Cruikshank was born in Bertie Township, Canada West in 1853, and was educated at St. Thomas Grammar School and Upper Canada College. He worked as a journalist and translator in the United States, before returning to Canada where he served as Bertie Township's assessor, then its treasurer, then became Reeve of Fort Erie and Warden of Welland County.

At the end of the First World War, Cruikshank was assigned to Ottawa where he was appointed director of the Historical Section of the General Staff. He retired as a brigadier-general in 1921. Cruikshank is commemorated with a HSMB plaque in the city of Welland, Ontario and an Ontario Heritage Trust plaque in Ottawa.

Cruikshank was named a Person of National Historic Significance in 1943.

Selected works