John By, lt-col, Royal Engineers (b at Lambeth, Eng and bap 10 Aug 1779; d at Frant, Eng 1 Feb 1836). By was one of the greatest early engineers in Canada. He built the 200 km Rideau Canal (1826-32) from Bytown (named for him, now Ottawa) to Kingston, involving construction of about 50 dams and 47 masonry locks. Without the aid of modern construction equipment, it was completed in 5 summer working seasons. By was born into a family of Thames watermen but was admitted in 1797 to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Commissioned in 1799, he served for 2 years at Plymouth before being sent to Canada in 1802. Here he worked on the first small locks on the St Lawrence R and on the fortifications of Québec.
Returning to England late in