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1830
1839-05-11: Ontario passes “An Act to Authorise the Erection of an Asylum within this Province for the Reception of Insane and Lunatic Person.”
1860
1865: First proto-eugenics articles by Francis Galton in MacMillan's Magazine
1866-02-20: Gregor Mendel publishes his paper, “Versuche über Pflanzenhybriden”
1867: Ugly Laws
1867: Canadian Constitution Act gives federal parliament legislative authority over "Indians, and Lands reserved for Indians"
1869: Galton publishes Hereditary Genius
1870
1870: Canadian Residential Schools in operation
1871: Charles Darwin publishes The Descent of Man

Ontario passes “An Act to Authorise the Erection of an Asylum within this Province for the Reception of Insane and Lunatic Person.”

Ontario passes “An Act to Authorise the Erection of an Asylum within this Province for the Reception of Insane and Lunatic Person.”

May 11th, 1839. The Ontario government (then known as the Province of Upper Canada) passes "An Act to Authorise the Erection of an Asylum within this Province for the Reception of Insane and Lunatic Persons."

The aim of this legislation was to give the government of Ontario the authority to establish the first provincial asylum for people with developmental disabilities. The legislation specified who was be in charge of building the institution, who was to run the institution, and on what grounds people could be admitted to the institution. Admittance to the proposed institution required a certificate from three recognized physicians practicing within Ontario.

The importance of this legislation in eugenics history is that it was the first piece of legislation to be introduced in Canada directly dealing with persons with mental disabilities. This legislation resulted in the opening of the "Provincial Lunatic Asylum" in Toronto, Ontario, on January 26, 1850 (www.archivescanada.ca).

-Luke Kersten

  • Upper Canada. (1839). An Act to Authorise the Erection of an Asylum within this Province for the Reception of Insane and Lunatic Persons. Statutes of Upper Canada. Retrieved from https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=l8kvAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&authuser=0&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA3.

Ontario passes “An Act to Authorise the Erection of an Asylum within this Province for the Reception of Insane and Lunatic Person.”

Ontario passes “An Act to Authorise the Erection of an Asylum within this Province for the Reception of Insane and Lunatic Person.”

May 11th, 1839. The Ontario government (then known as the Province of Upper Canada) passes "An Act to Authorise the Erection of an Asylum within this Province for the Reception of Insane and Lunatic Persons."

The aim of this legislation was to give the government of Ontario the authority to establish the first provincial asylum for people with developmental disabilities. The legislation specified who was be in charge of building the institution, who was to run the institution, and on what grounds people could be admitted to the institution. Admittance to the proposed institution required a certificate from three recognized physicians practicing within Ontario.

The importance of this legislation in eugenics history is that it was the first piece of legislation to be introduced in Canada directly dealing with persons with mental disabilities. This legislation resulted in the opening of the "Provincial Lunatic Asylum" in Toronto, Ontario, on January 26, 1850 (www.archivescanada.ca).

-Luke Kersten

  • Upper Canada. (1839). An Act to Authorise the Erection of an Asylum within this Province for the Reception of Insane and Lunatic Persons. Statutes of Upper Canada. Retrieved from https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=l8kvAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&authuser=0&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA3.