is a city in
Southwestern Ontario ,
Canada , along the
Quebec City-Windsor Corridor with a metropolitan area population of about 433,000; the city proper had a population of 336,539 in the
2001 Canadian Census .
London is the seat of
Middlesex County , at the forks of the
Thames River , halfway between
Toronto and
Detroit ,
Michigan . It is located at . London and the surrounding area (roughly, the territory between
Kitchener-Waterloo and
Windsor ) is collectively known as Southwestern Ontario.
London was first settled by Europeans in
1826 and was incorporated as a city on January 1,
1855 . Since then, London has grown into the largest
Regional municipality and the city has developed with a strong focus towards
Education ,
Health Care ,
Tourism ,
Manufacturing ,
Economic leadership and prosperity.
Prior to
European contact in the
17th Century , the present site of London was occupied by numerous
Algonquin and
Iroquois villages; the Algonquin village at the forks of ''Askunessippi'' (now called the Thames River) was called ''Kotequogong''.
This location was selected to be the site of the future capital of
Upper Canada in
1793 byLieutenant-Governor
John Graves Simcoe . It was Simcoe who named the settlement after
London, England and also renamed the river, however, his choice was initially rejected by
Guy Carleton, (Governor Dorchester) , who made the comment that "access to London would be limited to
Hot-air Balloon s".
In
1814 there was a skirmish during the
War Of 1812 in what is now southwest London at Reservoir Hill, formerly Hungerford Hill. The village itself was not founded until 1826, and never became the
Capital envisioned by Simcoe. It was part of the
Talbot Settlement , overseen by Colonel
Thomas Talbot , who oversaw the surveying of the land and built the first government buildings for the administration of the Western Ontario region. With the rest of Southwestern Ontario which was part of this settlement, it benefited from Talbot's provisions for building and maintaining roads and for assignment of priority for access to main roads to productive land (rather than to Crown and
Clergy Reserves , which received preference in the rest of Ontario).
In
1832 the new settlement suffered an outbreak of
Cholera . London remained a centre of strong
Tory support during the
Upper Canada Rebellion of
1837 , with a large
British garrison stationed there, although there was a brief rebellion led by Dr.
Charles Duncombe , who was forced to flee to the U.S.
On
April 13 ,
1845 , a large fire destroyed much of London, which was at the time filled with mostly wooden buildings. One of the first casualties of the fire was the town's only fire engine. In the
1860s ,
Sulphur Hot Spring s were discovered at the forks of the Thames River while industrialists were drilling for
Oil . The springs became a popular destination for wealthy Ontarians, until the turn of the
20th Century when a
Textile Factory was built at the site, replacing the spa.
In
1875 , London's first iron bridge, the Blackfriars Street Bridge, was constructed. A rare example of a bowstring through
Truss Bridge , it remains open to vehicular traffic today. The bridge was produced by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company of
Canton, Ohio , however a local contractor, Isaac Crouse (
1825 -
1915 ), was the contractor who undertook the actual erection of the bridge. Isaac Crouse was responsible for portions of the construction of many bridges in London. Although many repairs and modifications have been made to the Blackfriars bridge, affecting its historic integrity, the structure still remains as a beautiful historic relic, still serving its original purpose.
While other
Protestant cities in Ontario (notably
Toronto ) remained under the sway of the
Orange Order well into the twentieth century, London abandoned
Sectarianism in the nineteenth. In
1877 ,
Catholic and Protestant
Irish in London formed the
Irish Benevolent Society , which was open to both Catholics and Protestants and forbade the discussion of Irish
Politics . The influence of the
Orange Order (and of Catholic organizations) quickly waned. The Society survives to this day.
On
May 24 ,
1881 , the
Ferry ''SS Victoria'' capsized in the Thames River,
Drowning approximately 200 passengers, the worst disaster in London's history. Two years later, on
July 12 ,
1883 , the first of the two most devastating floods in London's history killed 17 people. The second major flood occurred on
April 26 ,
1937 , which destroyed more than 1000 homes and caused millions of dollars in damages, particularly in West London. After repeated floods the
Upper Thames River Conservation Authority built Fanshawe Dam to control the level of the Thames; it opened in
1952 . Financing came from the federal, provincial, and municipal governments. Other natural disasters include a
1984 Tornado that led to damage on several streets in the White Oaks area of South London.
London's role as a military centre continued into the 20th century during the two
World War s, serving as the administrative centre for the Western Ontario district. Today there is still an active
Garrison Support Unit in the city at Wolseley Barracks.
London
Amalgamated many of the surrounding communities in
1961 , including
Byron and Masonville, adding 60,000 people and more than doubling its size. After this amalgamation, suburban growth accelerated as London grew outward in all directions, creating expansive new subdivisions such as Westmount, Oakridge, Whitehills, Pond Mills and White Oaks.
In
1993 London annexed the entire
Town Of Westminster , a large, primarily rural municipality directly south of the city. With this massive annexation, London almost doubled in size again, adding several thousand more residents. London now stretches south to the boundary with
Elgin County .
The 1993 annexation has made London one of the largest urban municipalities in Ontario. Intense commercial/residential development is presently occurring in the southwest and northwest areas of the city. Opponents of this development cite
Urban Sprawl and transportation concerns as major issues facing London. The City of London is currently the
10th Largest City In Canada and the 5th largest city in Ontario.
, architect, 1824-1825
Gothic Revival )]]
''Main article:
London City Council ''
London's municipal government is split between 14
Councillor s (two representing each of London's seven
Ward s) and a
Board Of Control , consisting of four controllers and the
Mayor . London's current mayor is
Anne Marie DeCicco .
Historically, the Board of Control was introduced during a period of expansion so the ward councillors could deal with ward issues while the board dealt with problems affecting the entire city. Although London has many ties to
Middlesex County , it is now "separated" and the two have no jurisdictional overlap. Exception here is granted to the Middlesex County courthouse and former jail as both are located in downtown London.
The composition of the city council was challenged by two ballot questions during the civic election of
2003 on whether city council should be reduced in size and whether the Board of Control should be eliminated.
While the "yes" votes prevailed in both instances, the voter turnout failed to exceed 50 per cent and was therefore insufficient to make the decisions binding under the ''Municipal Act''. When the council voted to retain the status quo, an activist group,
Imagine London , petitioned the
Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) to change the ward composition of the city from seven wards in a roughly
Radial pattern from the downtown core to 14 wards defined by
Communities Of Interest in the city which includes a separate ward for the core.
The OMB ruled for the petitioners in December,
2005 and while the city sought leave to appeal the OMB decision via the courts, leave was denied on
February 28 ,
2006 in a decision of Superior Court's Justice McDermid.
In response, the city conceded to the governance change, but have asked for special legislation from the province to ensure that there will only be one councillor in each of the 14 new wards, not two.
In the
Provincial Government , London is represented by:
In the
Federal Government , London is represented by:
See also:
List Of Mayors Of London, Ontario ,
Roman Catholic Bishops Of London, Ontario
The area was formed during the retreat of the
Glacier s during the last
Ice Age , which produced areas of
Marshland , notably the Sifton Bog, as well as some of the most productive areas of farmland in Ontario. The eastern half of the city is generally flat, with gently rolling hills in the west and north.
The Thames River dominates London's geography, with the North Thames River and Thames River meeting at the centre of the city known as "The Forks" or "The Fork of the Thames." The North Thames runs through the man-made Fanshawe Lake, located in northeast London. Fanshawe Lake was created by Fanshawe Dam, which was constructed to protect the areas downriver from catastrophic flooding which has affected the city on two occasions in the past (
1883 and
1937 ).
Due to its proximity to the
Great Lakes , London experiences very contrasting
Seasons . The summers are usually hot and muggy, while the winters are normally quite cold. London has the most
Thunder and
Lightning storms of any area in Canada.
- Victoria Park , in downtown London
- Labatt Memorial Park , in central London at the riverforks
- Harris Park, in central London
- Gibbons Park, in north-central London
- Fanshawe Conservation Area, in northeast London
- Springbank Park , in southwest London
- Westminister Ponds, in south London
London's economy is dominated by
Locomotive and military vehicle production,
Insurance , and
Information Technology ; the
London Life Insurance company was founded there, and Electro-Motive Diesels, Inc. (formerly
General Motors '
Electro-Motive Division ) now builds all its locomotives in London.
General Dynamics Land Systems also builds armoured personnel carriers there. London also is a source of
Life Sciences and
Biotechnology related research; much of this is spurred on by the
University Of Western Ontario . The headquarters of the Canadian division of
3M are located in London and both the
Labatt and
Carling breweries were founded here.
Kellogg's also has a major factory in London.
Approximately six years ago the
Western Fair Association introduced
Slot Machines at the fair grounds, due to enabling provincial legislation passed by the
Harris Conservative government. Today, the City of London receives 5 per cent of the gross revenues on the first 450 slot machines and 2 per cent of gross revenues from any additional machines. Currently, there are 750 slot machines at the Western Fair.
As of 2001, the City of London had 336,539 inhabitants. According to
StatCan , Canada's official statistics office, the metropolitan population is 432,451 people, growing at approx. 0.95% per annum.
The city of London has one of the highest percentages of people in a Canadian city who are of
Anglo-saxon ,
Scots and
Irish origins. London also has a significant
Polish ,
Italian ,
German and white-
Spanish (mostly from Argentina and Chile) populations.
There are many
Churches in London and the religious population is predominantly
Christian . According to
StatsCan the Christian population can be expressed as:
is,
India ns,
Iraq is,
Egypt ians,
Somalis ,
Syria ns,
Afghanis ,
Turks ,
Sudan ese,
Algeria ns and many more.
Other religious faiths are also represented. The
Islamic population represents 2.7% of the total and the
Judaism ,
Hindu ,
Sikh and
Buddhist faiths are represented and have dedicated places of worship. There are also centers for
Theosophy and
Eckankar devotees, as well as a centre for
Unitarian s. There is also an active
Bahá'í community in London.
Historically, crime in London has been low for a city of its size, although the
Hells Angels have set up a chapter in town and the city formerly housed a chapter of the
Outlaws Motorcycle Club . In 2005, however, London had a record 14 homicides, giving the city a per capita murder rate of 3.8 per 100,000, twice the 2004 national average and about a third higher than in Toronto, where much concern was voiced in 2005 over violent crimes.
Marijuana is widely available illegally.
Ecstasy and
Special K are uncommon. London has a small
Crack problem, with the downtown eastside containing a few crack houses and accompanying dealers. Pharmaceutical drugs, such as
Morphine ,
Oxycodone and other opiates are increasing in use. The central eastside of the city is thought of as being less safe than other parts of the city, with the adage "EOA" (East of Adelaide) suggesting that one is in the dangerous part of town.
Prostitution is a key problem in this area. However, there have been concerted attempts by the residents of the community East of Adelaide to take ownership of the term "EOA," as well as promoting business and cultural development in that area of the city and reducing negative stigma attached to the area. Gangs and drugs are rising more than ever.
Special City of London initiatives in Old East London such as the proposed creation of the Old East Heritage Conservation District under Part V of the ''Ontario Heritage Act'', special Building Code policies and Facade Restoration Programs are helping to create a renewed sense of vigour in the East London Business District.
See also:
London Police Service
London
Elementary and
Secondary Schools are part of two school boards, the
Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board. See
List Of Schools In London, Ontario .
London is the home of the , founded in
1919 , Canada's only university-level women's college;
Huron University College , founded in
1863 , pre-dating UWO itself; and King's University College, founded in
1957 .
London is also the home of
Fanshawe College , a community college with an enrolment of approximately 13,000 full-time post-secondary students, including 3,500 apprentices, more than 200 international students from over 34 countries and almost 40,000 registrants taking part-time continuing education courses each year.
London is currently home to the
London Knights of the
Ontario Hockey League , which plays at the
John Labatt Centre , the host arena of the
2005 Memorial Cup , and were both 2004-2005 OHL and
Memorial Cup Champions. They are by far the most popular sports team in the city. During the summer months, the
London Majors of the
Intercounty Baseball League play at historic
Labatt Park . Other sports teams from London include:
The
University Of Western Ontario teams play under the name ''Mustangs''. The university's football team plays at TD Waterhouse Stadium.
Labatt Park , which opened in
1877 , is the world's oldest operating
Baseball grounds still in its original location.
The
Forest City Velodrome , located at the former
London Ice House , is the only indoor cycling facility in Ontario and the third built in North America. It opened in
2005 .
The next
World Lacrosse Championship will be played in London from
July 13 to
July 22 . Twenty-two teams from around the world are scheduled to compete. The event also includes a "Festival of Lacrosse", with tournaments in at least six divisions, ranging from an under-19 division to an over-50 ("Centurian") division.
Only two times in the past have the World Lacrosse Championships been held in
Ontario (both
Toronto ). The
Canada 's team did not place the in 1967 (the first championships), and in 1986, they were runner-up to the
United States .
The independent London Telephone Company was bought by the Bell Telephone Company of Canada in
1881 .
Bell Canada continues to be the incumbent local exchange carrier for London.
London pioneered in the establishment of
Cable Television in Canada, being either the first or second city in Canada with cable service, when Ed Jarmain and others wired the first 15 homes, and had to purchase TV sets for 14 of them. London's first cable system, established in 1952, broadcast American signals that crossed the border, including
WICU from
Erie, Pennsylvania . London had the second private local television station in Canada,
CFPL (on-air
November 28 ,
1953 ), and CFPL was the first Canadian local channel to broadcast in
Colour (
1966 ). It remains the only local TV station in London, and as part of
CHUM Limited 's ''NewNet'' system was branded as ''The New PL''. In August 2005 CFPL was rebranded as ''
A-Channel ''.
- Channel 10 - CFPL , A-Channel
- Channel 13 - Rogers Cable 13 London
London also had radio since
1922 when CJGC was established. It joined a Windsor station in early 1933 to become CKLW, but a local station was reestablished late that year,
CFPL . A
Sister FM Station was established in
1948 , and is now owned by
Corus Entertainment . Competitor
CKSL started in
1956 ; a third station, CJOE, was founded in
1967 , changing to
CJBK in
1973 . In addition to one station each with Fanshawe College (
CIXX ) and UWO (
CHRW ), other stations are associated with existing stations.
CBC Radio One operates a local news bureau in London, but the city does not have a full CBC production centre — except for local newscasts, the station carries programming from
Toronto 's
CBLA . Before 1978 CBC programming was carried on CFPL-AM, as well as on CFPL-FM prior to 1972. The CBC continues to operate rebroadcast transmitter CBBL for
CBC Radio Two , relaying the signal of Toronto's CBL-FM.
The following stations broadcast in London:
- 92.7 FM - CJBX , ''BX93'' Country
- 93.5 FM - CBCL , CBC Radio One
- 94.9 FM - CHRW , University Of Western Ontario Campus Radio
- 95.9 FM - CFPL , ''FM96'' active rock
- 97.5 FM - CIQM , ''Q97-5'' Adult Contemporary
- 99.3 FM - CJBC-4 , La Première Chaîne
- 100.5 FM - CBBL , CBC Radio Two
- 102.3 FM - CHST , Bob FM
- 105.9 FM - CHJX , Grace FM ( Christian Music )
- 106.9 FM - CIXX , Fanshawe College Campus Radio
- 980 AM - CFPL , news/ Talk
- 1290 AM - CJBK , news/talk/sports
- 1410 AM - CKSL , adult standards
Radio stations from other nearby cities, such as
Woodstock 's
CKDK and
St. Thomas '
CFHK , can also be heard in London.
Until 1937, London had two daily newspapers: the ''
London Free Press '' (established
1849 ) and the ''London Advertiser''. The ''Advertiser'' folded in 1937, and there has been no major local competition for the ''Free Press'' since then. The ''Free Press,'' formerly owned by the Blackburn family, is now owned by
Sun Media , a subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc.
The ''Free Press'' also publishes ''
London This Week '', a free weekly municipally oriented newspaper created to compete with ''The Londoner,'' a community-focused weekly started by Controller Gord Hume and former Free Press editor-in-chief Philip R. McLeod in
2003 . ''Scene Magazine'', a free bi-weekly newspaper, was established in
1989 by publisher Bret Downe focusing on local and entertainment news. In 2005, the controlling interest in ''The Londoner'' was purchased by Bowes Publishing Inc., a subsidiary of Sun Media. As expected after the takeover of ''The Londoner,'' effective December 28, 2005, ''London This Week'' is no longer published.
London's diverse cultural offering boosts its tourism industry. The city is home to many festivals throughout the summer including the London International Children's Festival, London Ribfest which is the second largest rib festival in North America
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Sunfest , a
World Music and culture festival — the second biggest in Canada after
Caribana in
Toronto .
Musically, London is home to Orchestra London, a professional
Symphony Orchestra , the London Youth Symphony and also the
Guy Lombardo Museum. There are several museums and theatrical facilities including
Museum London , which is located at the Forks of the Thames. Museum London exhibits art by a wide variety of local, regional and national artists including
Paul Peel and
Greg Curnoe . London is also home to the Museum of Archaeology, owned by the
University Of Western Ontario (UWO), with a reconstructed Iroquois village, the McIntosh Gallery which is an art gallery on the UWO campus and The
Grand Theatre which is a professional theatre with a secondary stage named the McManus Studio. Other places and events of artistic and cultural interest include:
- Forest City Gallery, the city's artist run centre - founded in 1973
- Fanshawe Pioneer Village, a reconstructed 19th Century village
- Storybook Gardens, an Amusement Park / Zoo for children
- Home County Folk Festival, a Folk Music festival
- London Fringe Festival
- London Balloon Festival , displays of Hot Air Balloon s
- Western Fair , an Agricultural Fair
- Western Fair Raceway, a half-mile (802 m) Harness Racing track and simulcast centre; despite its name, it operates year-round. The grounds include a coin slot Casino , an IMAX theatre and Sports and Agri-complex.
- John Labatt Centre , sports-entertainment complex
- London Rib-Fest, currently the second largest rib-fest in North America.
- Labatt Memorial Park , historic baseball park
- TD Waterhouse Stadium, an all-purpose stadium at the University of Western Ontario
- Forest City Velodrome, an indoor bicycle track at the former London Ice House
- Spriet Children's Theatre, used primarily by The Original Kids theatrical company
- The Arts Project, an art gallery, workshop and theatre.
London is present at the junction of two major highways: the
401 (the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway, connecting
Windsor to
Montreal ) and the
402 (connecting London to
Sarnia ). Also, Highway
403 , which diverges from the 401 not far east of London, provides ready access to
Brantford ,
Hamilton , the
Golden Horseshoe region and the
Niagara Peninsula .
Many smaller 2-lane highways also pass through or near London including Kings Highways
2 ,
3 ,
4 ,
7 and
22 . Many of these are "historical" names, however, as provincial downloading in the 1980s and 1990s put responsibility for most provincial highways onto municipal governments. Nevertheless, these roads continue to provide important access from London to nearby communities and locations in much of
Western Ontario including
Goderich ,
Port Stanley and
Owen Sound .
Within London, as with many cities, traffic tends to congest in certain areas during rush hour. However, the lack of a municipal expressway (either through or around the city) as well as the presence of two significant railways (each with attendant switching yards and few over/under -passes) contributes heavily to this congestion. These conditions cause travel times to be highly variable with end-to-end (or top-to-bottom) times varying from 20 minutes to over an hour.
London is the largest city in Ontario not to have an urban
Expressway serving the urban area. This is despite plans to construct such a road (around the city's periphery) which have existed for decades. Notable in the
1960s and early
1970s was an effort to route, through the north and east sections of the city or in the rural areas beyond, an expressway from
Sarnia . The assorted route options (in-city that served users but disrupted neighbourhoods, or out-of-the-city that avoided neighbourhoods but did not serve city users) were fought over, but in the end, city council rejected the expressway, and instead accepted Airport Road to serve the east end. As of 2006, a newly widened Airport Road is pending an official name change to
Veterans' Memorial Parkway .
Although there are many factors at play, proponents of the project attribute the lack of progress largely to litigation by environmental lobbies and local home-owners. Nevertheless, the recent doubling (to four lanes) of
Airport Road (formerly
Highway 100 ) in the industrialized east end does represent progress toward this goal and significantly aids traffic (largely coming off the 401) in reaching the east, and north ends of the city.
Since the
1970s , London has been more successful at urban road realignments that eliminated "jogs" in established traffic patterns over 19th-century street "mis-alignments": the Riverside Drive-Queens Avenue-Dundas Street linkup, the Horton Street Expressway, the Bradley Avenue-Highbury interchange, the Wonderland Road bridge over the Thames River, and the Oxford Street West extension.
Like most cities of its size or larger, London has several
Taxi and for-hire
Limousine services and the
London Transit Commission has 35 bus routes throughout the city. London is believed to be the only jurisdiction in North America where executive-class, sedan limousines can accept street-flags and wait for walk-on customers outside bars and restaurants, a popular by-product of the city's controversial and on-going taxi wars.
London is on the
Canadian National Railway main line between Toronto and
Chicago, Illinois (with a secondary main line to
Windsor ) and the
Canadian Pacific Railway main line between Toronto and
Detroit .
VIA Rail operates passenger service through
London Station as part of the
Quebec City-Windsor Corridor , with connections to the United States.
London is also an important destination for intercity
Bus travellers. The
Greyhound Canada express services to and from Toronto are heavily travelled, and connecting services radiate from London throughout southwestern Ontario and through
Detroit, Michigan to
Chicago, Illinois .
London International Airport (
YXU ) is served by airlines including
Air Canada Jazz ,
WestJet and
Northwest Airlink , and provides direct flights to popular national and international destinations. Many flights to nearby major airports Toronto and Detroit are flown daily, as well as a daily non-stop to Ottawa.
Contrary to popular belief, London did not take on the name "Forest City" due to the number of trees in the city. In its early days, London was an isolated destination and one would have to walk through a forest to get there. So it can be said that London was a "city within a forest" and as such earned the nickname "The Forest City." In modern times, however, Londoners have become protective of the trees in the city, protesting "unnecessary" removal of trees. The City Council and tourist industry have created projects to replant trees throughout the city.
Asteroid (12310) Londontario is named for the city.
The tallest building in London is
One London Place , owned by Sifton Properties Ltd., at the southwest corner of Wellington Street and Queens Avenue.
The following is a list of some notable Londoners:
- Philip Aziz , painter, sculptor, designer, heritage preservationist.
- Karen Dianne Baldwin , 1982 Miss Universe
- Frederick Banting , co-discoverer of Insulin , practised in London and has both a museum dedicated to him and a high school named after him.
- Joan Barfoot , Canadian author (fiction).
- Sir Adam Beck , who was instrumental in setting up the early grid to deliver hydro-electric publicly owned power from Niagara Falls to the rest of Ontario; former mayor of London.
- Bill Brady broadcast journalist, Member of The Order Of Canada and formerly National Director of the Canadian Heart Foundation .
- Richard Maurice Bucke , pioneer in the modern treatment of the insane.
- Tom R. Burgess , MLB pro baseball player (1954-1962) and MLB coach/ instructor until 1995
- Thomas Carling , founder of the Carling Brewing Company.
- Sir John Carling , Thomas' son, provincial and federal politician.
- Jeff Carter , hockey player.
- Jack Chambers , painter, flimmaker.
- John H. Chapman , physicist.
- Al Christie and his brother Charles Christie were Canadian Pioneers In Early Hollywood who built their own film studio.
- Frank Colman, pro baseball player in 1940s with Yankees and Pirates.
- Hume Cronyn , actor.
- Greg Curnoe , painter, musician and author.
- Peter Desbarats , former Global-TV anchor, author, former dean of journalism, University of Western Ontario.
- Lolita Davidovich , actress.
- John and Jesse Davidson , of Jesse's Journey fame; father and disabled son team crossed Ontario in 1995; Order of Ontario recipients; John crossed Canada alone in 1997-98, raising millions for MD research.
- Chris Daw , gold medalist in Turin 2006 Paralympics; wheelchair curling (skip).
- Christopher Dewdney , poet.
- Chris Doty (1966-2006), award-winning documentary filmmaker, author and playwright.
- Dr. Charles Drake , neurosurgeon.
- Marc Emery , marijuana activist.
- Max Ferguson , CBC radio and TV personality, 1950s and 1960s.
- Victor Garber , actor.
- George Gibson (Mooney), 1880-1967, catcher, Pittsburgh Pirates, won World Series in 1909
- Ted Giannoulas , the Famous Chicken / San Diego Chicken mascot.
- Ryan Gosling , actor
- Jeff Hackett , hockey player.
- Paul Haggis , Academy Award-winning Hollywood screenwriter, director.
- Richard B. Harrison , 1864-1935, groundbreaking Black actor.
- Garth Hudson , keyboard player in The Band .
- Tommy Hunter , country singer.
- Edwin Jarmain , pioneered cable television in Canada 1952
- Jenny Jones , TV-talk show host.
- Wilfred and Elsie Jury, noted archaeologists/ historians.
- John Labatt , pioneer brewer.
- Paul Lewis , 1889-1974, most photographed Black person in Canadian history; celebrity in London for nearly 60 years.
- Brett Lindros , hockey player, brother of Eric.
- Eric Lindros , hockey player, brother of Brett.
- Guy Lombardo and brothers, world-famous bandleader and hydroplane racer.
- Roy McDonald , poet, diarist, local street-person/ personality.
- Craig MacTavish , hockey player.
- Kate Nelligan , actress.
- Christine Nesbitt , silver-medal winning Olympic speed-skater (women's team pursuit)
- Niosi Brothers , band members, 3 brothers (Joe, Bert and Johnnie) members of radio's Happy Gang.
- Ocean , Christian Folk-rock band.
- Paul Peel , painter.
- Denise Pelley , singer and actor.
- David Peterson , Premier Of Ontario , 1985 – 1990 .
- Skip Prokop , rock drummer, founder of the band, Lighthouse .
- Jack Richardson , award-winning record producer, numerous Junos, Order of Canada recipient and educator at Fanshawe College
- John P. Robarts , premier of Ontario, 1961 - 1971 .
- Vic Roschkov Sr. , newspaper editorial cartoonist/illustrator.
- Craig Simpson , hockey player and coach
- Lara St. John , violinist, sister of Scott St. John.
- Scott St. John , violinist/violist, brother of Lara St. John
- Adam Stern , Major League Baseball player with Boston Red Sox.
- David Suzuki , geneticist, environmentalist, writer and broadcaster.
- Salli Terri , mezzo soprano.
- Five of the six Tolpuddle Martyrs , convicted in England for forming the first trade union there, settled in London.
- Jack Warner , co-founder of Warner Brothers Studios .
- Marion Woodman , Jungian and feminist writer.
- Frederick H. Armstrong and John H. Lutman, ''The Forest City: An Illustrated History of London, Canada''. Burlington, Ontario: Windsor Publications; 1986.
- Orlo Miller, ''London 200: An Illustrated History''. London: London Chamber of Commerce; 1993.
- L. D. DiStefano and N. Z. Tausky, ''Victorian Architecture in London and Southwestern Ontario, Symbols of Aspiration''. University of Toronto Press; 1986
