Casimir Gzowski

Sir Casimir Stanislaus Gzowski, (born Kazimierz Stanisław Gzowski; March 5, 1813 – August 24, 1898), was a Polish-Canadian engineer who was known for his work on a wide variety of Canadian railways, as well as work on the Welland Canal. He also served as acting Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1896 to 1897. Life and career Gzowski was born in Saint Petersburg to a noble Polish father, Count Stanisław Gzowski, who was then serving as a Captain in the Russian Imperial Guard. During the Polish November Uprising, he served as a combat engineer with the rank of podporuchik in the Polish army under the command of Józef Dwernicki against the Russians. After their defeat, he escaped to Austria, but as an unwanted political prisoner, he was deported by the Austrians to the USA. Later, his family also emigrated. He knew no English but began to study law and was admitted into practice. His father was an engineer, and as this became his primary interest, Kazimierz became involved in railway construction in the United States. Eventually, he was hired as an engineer to help in the construction of the New York and Erie Railway. In 1841, he moved to Canada to work on the Welland Canal. He also helped finish the building of Yonge Street and did other projects for the Department of Public Works in southern Ontario. He settled in London. In 1849, Gzowski was hired as a railway contractor by the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad. The new president of this reorganized company, Alexander Tilloch Galt, and other directors were dissatisfied with the work of the Montreal contractors. Accepting Galt's offer to be Chief Engineer, in charge of construction, Gzowski moved his family to Sherbrooke.