1949 - Recognizable names

On February 26, John Robbins writes a letter recommending a young man named George Grant for a pre-doctoral fellowship. Grant later joins the Humanities Research Council of Canada (HRCC) on his way to becoming Canada’s pre-eminent philosopher. Marshall McLuhan receives a research grant around this same time, years before he gains international recognition for his analysis of television discourse and his famous observation that “the medium is the message.” Northrop Frye, the world-renowned literary theorist, sits on the HRCC’s Aid to Publications committee shortly after publishing his first major book. Along with Harold Innis, who had already made significant contributions to economics by the time he helped found the Canadian Social Science Research Council, these are some examples of Canada’s foremost academics being aided by or involved with the councils from an early stage.