William Galbraith

Montreal-born William Galbraith moved to Belleville, Ontario in 1901 and Toronto in 1904 and, while working as an accountant and salesman, had a brief career as an amateur athlete. By 1908 he was good enough to be sent to that year’s Summer Olympics as a representative of Canada, where he was eliminated in the opening rounds of the 1,500 metre and 5 mile events and finished sixth in the 3,200 metres steeplechase. By 1911 he was working in the architectural profession as a draftsman with Chadwick & Beckett and spent two years in Red Deer, Alberta before returning to Toronto in 1913.

Despite having no formal training, his reputation as an able designer grew quickly and, in 1915, he began representing himself as an architect, later incorporating design consultancy into his business. In 1930 he published A Canadian Home Plan Book, a collection of over 30 articles he had written about residential architecture. He continued to write on the subject for several years, with his final piece published in 1937, the year of his death.

Personal Best: 1500 – unknown.