Joel Zemel

Joel Zemel resides and works in Halifax. He was awarded the prestigious 2016 John Lyman Book Award (U.S.A.) in the category of Canadian Naval and Maritime History for his book Scapegoat, an in-depth examination of the legal proceedings following the 1917 Halifax Explosion. He was the historical and design consultant for Canada Post Corporation's stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion and is included in HRM Archives's "List of Professional Researchers."

Recent Work by Joel

HalifaxYesterday: Charles John Mayers: The Real Life Story Behind 'The Flying Sailor'

What happened on the morning of 6 December 1917 to a 22 year-old merchant mariner named Charles John Mayers (1896-1959), is as true as it incredulous

Mar 6, 2023 2:00 PM Read more >

Dr. Clement Ligoure: A Humanitarian Approach To Medical Care

Recently, Dr. Ligoure’s former home became the subject of a concerted local campaign to pressure City Council to register the house as a municipal heritage property

Feb 20, 2023 1:44 PM Read more >

A 1917 Halifax Explosion Profile: Captain James Anderson Murray, Convoy Officer

James Anderson Murray had an office at Pier 9 and was killed instantly

Dec 6, 2022 1:44 PM Read more >

HalifaxYesterday : The Unknown Halifax Dockyard Transit Observatory

A small wooden structure built on a hill within the Dockyard served as a transit observatory and assisted greatly in further determining the Yard’s exact longitude

Aug 2, 2022 1:44 PM Read more >

SS Whangape (1900): A Brief History of SS Mont-Blanc’s Sister Ship

The knowledge of this particular vessel, the only sister ship to SS Mont-Blanc, is important from an archival perspective

May 30, 2022 1:44 PM Read more >

HalifaxYesterday: The Brookfields - A Forgotten Nova Scotia Dynasty <b>(4 photos)</b>

HalifaxYesterday: The Brookfields - A Forgotten Nova Scotia Dynasty (4 photos)

Entrepreneur and building contractor John Brookfield and his son, Samuel Manners Brookfield, contributed greatly to the building trades

Apr 25, 2022 1:44 PM Read more >

HalifaxYesterday: Joseph Zatzman - Dartmouth’s First Jewish Mayor <b>(2 photos)</b>

HalifaxYesterday: Joseph Zatzman - Dartmouth’s First Jewish Mayor (2 photos)

Joseph Zatzman's most notable legacy in this position was his enormous impact on the creation of Burnside Industrial Park

Feb 28, 2022 1:44 PM Read more >

<b>HalifaxYesterday: </b> Pat LaCroix - The Halifax Three, Jazz and Photography <b>(10 photos)</b>

HalifaxYesterday: Pat LaCroix - The Halifax Three, Jazz and Photography (10 photos)

Richard Byrne, Denny Doherty and Pat LaCroix formed the Halifax Three at the beginning of the Folk Music craze of the early 1960s

Jan 24, 2022 1:44 PM Read more >

<b>HalifaxYesterday:</b> Aileen Meagher, Canada’s Flying Schoolmarm <b>(8 photos)</b>

HalifaxYesterday: Aileen Meagher, Canada’s Flying Schoolmarm (8 photos)

Aileen Meagher was an Olympic athlete, a school teacher, and an accomplished artist

Mar 22, 2021 12:05 PM Read more >

<b>HalifaxYesterday:</b> Janet Kitz: Historian, Educator and Leading Authority on the 1917 Explosion in Halifax Harbour <b>(8 photos)</b>

HalifaxYesterday: Janet Kitz: Historian, Educator and Leading Authority on the 1917 Explosion in Halifax Harbour (8 photos)

Were it not for decades of dedicated work by Janet Frame Kitz, an incalculable amount of knowledge concerning the Halifax Explosion would have been forever lost

Feb 22, 2021 11:50 AM Read more >