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2003Oct, 15

Ben Metcalfe

Ben Metcalfe, Canadian journalist and activist (b. 1919)
Bennett Metcalfe (October 31, 1919 – October 14, 2003) was a Canadian journalist and first chairman of Greenpeace, which was founded in 1971.

Ben Metcalfe was born in Winnipeg. Later he moved to the United Kingdom and at the age of 16 joined the Royal Air Force. He was posted in India and North Africa. After World War II he worked as journalist in France. He moved back to Canada in 1951, living in Winnipeg, West Vancouver, and Shawnigan Lake. He worked as a journalist, editor, and freelance correspondent for Winnipeg Free Press, the Province in Vancouver and other publications. He also started a public relations company with his second wife Dorothy.

In 1971 he joined the crew member of the Greenpeace boat sailing to protest against U.S. army nuclear bomb test near Amchitka island. When the Greenpeace Foundation was established, Metcalfe became its first chairman. He recognized the importance of a media campaign as a tool to gain support for environmental issues. He left his post when Greenpeace changed focus from nuclear weapons to fighting against whaling and seal hunting.

He is the author of a biography of Roderick Langmere Haig-Brown:

Metcalfe, E. Bennett (1985). A man of some importance : the life of Roderick Langmere Haig-Brown Published by James W. Wood, Vancouver. ISBN 0-921063-01-6, ISBN 0-921063-00-8.

Metcalfe died of a heart attack at age 83. He had three daughters Michelle, Charlotte, and Sophie; and sons Christopher (1958-1980), and Michael (1956-2002)

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Events on 2003

  • 17Mar

    2003 invasion of Iraq

    Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook, resigns from the British Cabinet in disagreement with government plans for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
  • 7Apr

    Saddam Hussein

    U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein's regime falls two days later.
  • 27Aug

    North Korea and weapons of mass destruction

    The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, convene to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.
  • 12Sep

    Pan Am Flight 103

    The United Nations lifts sanctions against Libya after that country agreed to accept responsibility and recompense the families of victims in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
  • 12Nov

    2003 invasion of Iraq

    Iraq War: In Nasiriyah, Iraq, at least 23 people, among them the first Italian casualties of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, are killed in a suicide bomb attack on an Italian police base.