Elkanah Billings

Who was Elkanah Billings?

Elkanah Billings is often referred to as Canada's first paleontologist. Billings was born on a farm by the Rideau River outside Bytown, now known as Billings Estate. His parents were named Lamira and Braddish Billings. His family included an older sister named Sabra and an older brother Maj Braddish Billings Jr, who practiced as an architect and served in the North West Rebellion. His brother W. Ross Billings also practiced as an architect. His younger siblings were Samuel, Sarah and Charles. He was originally educated in law and in 1845, he was called to the Canadian bar. In 1852, he founded the journal the Canadian Naturalist. He continued to practice law until 1856, when he was hired to be the first paleontologist for Geological Survey of Canada. In his lifetime, he identified 1065 new species and 61 new genera, including Aspidella, the first documented fossil of the Ediacaran biota.

He married Helen Walker Wilson in 1845. However, he was childless.