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For other people with the same name, see Pierre Berton (disambiguation).''
Pierre Francis Berton, CC, O.Ont, BA, D.Litt (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana and Canadian history, and was a well-known television personality and journalist.

Berton was one of Canada's most prolific and popular authors and an accomplished storyteller. The author of 50 books, Berton's literary career was diverse. He produced an array of different genres, including books on popular culture, Canadian history, critiques of mainstream religion, anthologies, children's books and readable historical works for youth. He was credited with popularizing Canadian history by showing Canadians that their own history is far more interesting and exciting than they might have thought.

Biography

He was born in Whitehorse, Yukon, and raised in the Yukon, where his parents had moved for the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush. He worked in Klondike mining camps during his years as a history major at the University of British Columbia, where he also worked on the student paper "The Ubyssey." He spent his early newspaper career in Vancouver, where at 21 he was the youngest city editor on any Canadian daily, replacing editorial staff that had been called up during World War II. Berton himself spent four years in the army during the war, rising to the rank of Captain as an instructor at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario.

He moved to Toronto in 1947, and at the age of 31 was named managing editor of Maclean's. In 1957 he became a key member of the CBC's public affairs flagship program, Close-Up, and a permanent panellist on the popular television show Front Page Challenge. He joined the Toronto Star as associate editor and columnist in 1958, leaving in 1962 to commence The Pierre Berton Show, which ran until 1973. Thereafter he appeared as host and writer on My Country, The Great Debate, Heritage Theatre, The Secret of My Success and The National Dream.

He served as the Chancellor of Yukon College and, along with numerous honorary degrees, received over 30 literary awards such as the Governor-General's Award for Creative Non-Fiction (three times), the Stephen Leacock Medal of Humour, and the Gabrielle Léger National Heritage Award.

He is a member of Canada's Walk of Fame, having been inducted in 1998. In The Greatest Canadian project, he was voted #31 in the list of great Canadians.

In 2004, Berton published his 50th book, Prisoners of the North, after which he announced in an interview with CanWest News Service that he was retiring from writing.

On October 17, 2004 the CAD $12.6 million Pierre Berton Resource Library, named in his honour, was opened in Vaughan, Ontario. He had lived in nearby Kleinburg, Ontario, for about fifty years.

Berton raised eyebrows in October 2004 by discussing his forty years of recreational use of marijuana on two CBC Television programs, >play and Rick Mercer Report where he gave tips on how to roll a joint *.

Berton died at Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto, reportedly of heart failure, at the age of 84 on November 30, 2004.

His childhood home in Dawson City, now called Berton House, is a writers' retreat where a writer is allowed to live. The only stipulation is that the writer give a public lecture. Many books have been created during the tenancy of writers in that house.

Awards

Selected bibliography

  • The Mysterious North: Encounters with the Canadian Frontier,1947-1954. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1956.
  • The Last Great Gold Rush. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1958. ISBN 0385658443
  • The Secret World of Og. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1961 (illustrated by William Winter)
  • The Comfortable Pew. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1965.
  • The Cool, Crazy, Committed World of the Sixties. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1966.
  • The Smug Minority. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1968.
  • The National Dream. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart,1970.
  • The Last Spike. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1971.
  • The Dionne Years: A Thirties Melodrama . Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1977.
  • The Invasion of Canada. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1980. ISBN 0316092169
  • Flames Across the Border. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1981. ISBN 0316092177
  • Why We Act Like Canadians. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1982.
  • The Klondike Quest. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1983.
  • Vimy. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1986. ISBN 0771013396
  • The Arctic Grail. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1988.
  • The Great Depression. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1990. ISBN 0771012705
  • Living With History 1917-1995. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1995. ISBN 0385255284
  • Marching as to War. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2001. ISBN 0385257252
  • The Battle of Lake Erie. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1994 ISBN 0771014244 (illustrated by Paul McCusker)
  • Attack on Montreal. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1995. ISBN 0771014198
  • Farewell to the Twentieth Century. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1996. ISBN 0385255772
  • The Last Good Year. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1997. ISBN 0385256620

External links

1920 births | 2004 deaths | Athabasca University people | Canada's Walk of Fame | Canadian historians | Canadian journalists | Canadian television personalities | Canadian university and college chancellors | Companions of the Order of Canada | Klondike Gold Rush | Members of the Order of Ontario | Ontario writers | Members of the United Church of Canada | People from York Region, Ontario | People from Yukon | Toronto people | University of British Columbia alumni

Pierre Berton | Pierre Berton | Pierre Berton

 

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