Financier, philanthropist and historian William Perkins Bull was born in Downsview, Ontario, in 1870. Bull attended Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the bar in 1896. He established a law practice but soon broadened his interests to include oil, lumber and land speculation. His business interests took him to England where, during the First World War, he and his wife Maria Brennan Bull established a convalescent hospital for wounded Canadian officers. Following the war he returned to Canada to continue his legal and business affairs. In 1931 Bull's interest in history was spurred when he assembled a library of rare books by Canadian authors. He began a study of Peel County's history that eventually grew into ten published volumes on Peel's cultural and natural history. Perkins Bull was considered ahead of his time in recognizing the historical value of oral and written accounts, photographs, everyday objects and the built environment. He collected pioneer artefacts and Canadian art and much of this collection, including his research, is preserved at the Peel Heritage Complex in Brampton.

Location

At the Peel Heritage Complex, 9 Wellington Street East, Brampton.

Themes

• Arts and culture
• People
• Politics and law