Memorable Manitobans: Norman Criddle (1875-1933)

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Norman Criddle
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Artist, naturalist.

Born in England, son of Percy Criddle and brother of Stuart Criddle, he came to Manitoba with his family and homesteaded at Aweme. He was a talented artist who illustrated a number of agricultural books, including Farm Weeds of Canada (1906) and Fodder and Pasture Plants (1913). He developed the “Criddle Mixture” of poisons to counter the grasshopper menace in 1902 and was employed by the government to demonstrate its use to farmers. He became an entomological field officer for Manitoba in 1913. He was an expert on grasshoppers. He received an honorary diploma from the Manitoba Agricultural College, was Honourary President of the Natural History Society of Manitoba (1925-1933), and was inducted posthumously into the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame. He died at Brandon on 4 May 1933 and was buried in the Aweme Cemetery. His papers are at the Archives of Manitoba.

See also:

Norman Criddle: Pioneer Entomologist of the Prairies by Neil J. Holliday
Manitoba History, Number 51, February 2006.

The Criddle Family by Lillian Gibbons
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 6, Number 2, January 1961.

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Criddle-Vane Homestead (Municipality of Glenboro-South Cypress)

Criddle-de-Diddle-Ensis: A Biographical History of the Criddles of Aweme, Manitoba Pioneers of the 1880s by Alma Criddle, 1973.

Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect That Shaped the American Frontier by Jeffrey A. Lockwood, Basic Books, 2004.

Sources:

“Noted western scientist dies at age of 59,” Winnipeg Tribune, 5 May 1933.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

We thank Graham A. MacDonald for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 12 January 2020

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

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