BIOGRAPHICAL
DETAILS
1875
Born 11 August in Haddington, Scotland. Father was John Leader Nobbs of St.
Petersburg, Russia. Mother was the former Agnes Fletcher Brown, daughter of
the Reverend Dr. John Brown of Haddington.
1885
Attended classes at the School of Design, St. Petersburg.
1887
Entered the Edinburgh Collegiate School.
1889
Began attending classes in drawing, modelling, and design at Heriot Watt College.
Also took classes in drawing and technical subjects at the School of Art and
the School of Applied Art until 1896.
1896
Received an M.A. in Arts from the University of Edinburgh. Attended coronation
celebrations of Czar Nicholas II. Became an articled pupil of Robert Lorimer.
1900
Awarded the Tite Prize of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Elected
an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Embarked on a six-month
trip to the Continent, spending several months in northern Italy.
1901
Moved to London. Joined the London County Council Architect's Department,
Fire Brigade Branch.
1902
Submitted winning design for the Owen Jones Studentship of the Royal Institute
of British Architects. Became chief assistant to A. Hessell Tiltman.
1903
Worked as a competition draughtsman in various offices in London, including
those of John Belcher and Walter Tapper. Appointed Macdonald Professor of
Architecture, McGill University. Moved to Montreal.
1904
Formed a temporary summer association with Montreal architect David R. Brown.
1905
Appealed for the establishment of a Museum of Industrial Art to improve Canadian
products.
1906
Chaired Committee on City Improvement of the Province of Quebec Association
of Architects.
1907
Carried out final revision of the design for the Alberta Legislative Building,
Edmonton.
1908
Awarded a silver medal for an international foils display at the Olympic Games
in London.
1909
Married Mary Cecilia Shepherd. Submitted resignation as Macdonald Professor
of Architecture. Elected an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy.
1910
Formed a partnership with George Taylor Hyde. Elected a Fellow of the Royal
Institute of British Architects.
1911
Began appointment as Professor of Design at McGill.
1912
Travelled to Edmonton, Alberta, with Frank Darling.
1914-19
War service. Attained the rank of major.
1919
Won competition for a War Memorial Museum for Regina, Saskatchewan (unexecuted).
1920
Appointed architectural adviser to the Canadian Battlefields Memorials Commission.
Elected an Academician, Royal Canadian Academy.
1924
Elected president of the Province of Quebec Association of Architects.
1928
Elected president of the Town Planning Institute of Canada.
1929
Elected president of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.
1930
Served as vice-president of the Montreal City Improvement League and as chairman
of the C.I.L. Committee on Town Planning.
1934
Served as joint-chairman of the Montreal Committee on Housing and Slum Clearance.
Published Salmon Tactics.
1936
Published Fencing Tactics.
1937
Published Design: A Treatise on the Discovery of Form.
1939
Elected to the Royal Society of Arts, London.
1940
Retired from McGill.
1941
Served as one of McGill's delegates to the Montreal City Council.
1942
Elected acting president of the Royal Canadian Academy.
1944
Death of George Hyde. Last designs of Nobbs and Hyde were executed in 1945,
after which Nobbs practiced briefly under the name of Nobbs and Valentine
and then in partnership with his son Francis J. Nobbs.
1948
Founded the Atlantic Salmon Association.
1952
Awarded the Outdoor Life Conservation Award.
1957
Awarded honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by McGill.
1964
Died 5 November. Buried in Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal.
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