Young Scottish surveyor Sandford Fleming emigrated from Kirkcaldy to Ontario in 1845. He worked on Canada’s first postage stamps and became a railway engineer. He rose quickly in his profession, and in 1867 his proposed transcontinental railway persuaded the separate colonies of the British-controlled province to form the historic Canadian Confederation.

During a brief period out of favour with the Canadian government, Fleming played a key part in establishing a telegraph link across the Pacific to Australia, and took the first steps towards modern-day time-zones and the twenty-four clock. For this and for his role in Canada’s development as a modern nation he was knighted in 1897.

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