1924: Lionel C. Charlesworth, P.Eng.

A native of Windsor, Ont., Lionel Charlesworth received an engineering degree from the University of Toronto in 1893. From 1899-1903 he served as mining lands agent for the Ontario government, then moved to Medicine Hat, Alta., to become district surveyor for the Northwest   Territories.

In 1905 he became Alberta's first director of surveys and in 1915 was appointed deputy minister of public works for the province. During this time he also served briefly as Alberta's deputy minister of railways and telephones.

In 1921 he became chair of the province's Irrigation Council, taking on the additional duties of director of water resources in 1930. He resigned from both posts in 1939 to become general manager of the Eastern Irrigation District at Brooks, a position he held until retiring in 1945.

Charlesworth was elected the Association of Professional Engineers of Alberta (APEA; now The Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta) president in 1924 after serving on council for two years.

He was also president of the Alberta Land Surveyors Association, a member of the Engineering Institute of Canada and played a key role in establishing the Iron Ring ritual in Canada. One of the best known civil engineers and public officials in the early years of the province, Charlesworth was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree by the University of Alberta in 1950. He passed away in 1956.