Coal Mining Fatalities
This database contains 2497 known Nova Scotia coal mining fatalities. Names, dates, places, mines, and causes of death have been painstakingly compiled. Despite this, it is by no means a complete list. Fatalities occurred before records were kept; descriptions of incidents and those involved were lost along with coal company records. Official recording of multiple deaths may have missed some names; in some cases, names are misspelled. However, this is likely the most complete list that exists. Please contact us if you know names to add.
Displaying page 25 of 50 pages (2497 entries).
| Surname | Given Name(s) | Year |
County |
Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McNeil | John D. | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Fall caused by trip |
| Major | Joseph | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Broken cable on riding rake; 1 of 21 killed |
| Murray | Garfield | 1939 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of coal |
| Dickson | John | 1940 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Fall of stone |
| Finlayson | Charles | 1942 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Struck by trip |
| Briffett | Edward | 1942 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Fall of stone |
| Forris | Stephen | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
| Mason | Arthur | 1944 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Struck by trap door dislodged by trip |
| Seward | Peter | 1945 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 24 | Fall of stone |
| Gallant | Joseph | 1946 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Fall of roof |
| O'Connell | Patrick | 1948 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Explosives |
| Edwards | James | 1950 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Haulage |
| MacIsaac | John A. | 1951 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 18A | Haulage |
| MacLean | John | 1953 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 18 | Haulage |
| MacDonald | Robert C. | 1954 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 18 | Fall of stone |
| Paul | John | 1956 | Cape Breton County | Tomson | Explosives |
| Mitchell | Fred | 1957 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Fall of stone |
| Thorne | Wesley | 1959 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Haulage |
| Jenkins | Robert | 1960 | Cape Breton County | Four Star | Surface haulage |
| LeBeau | John | 1963 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Maintenance |
| Currie | Michael | 1966 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Fall of stone |
| Swarttzack | Freeman | 1968 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 20 | Natural Causes |
| Legnaro | Benedict | 1971 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Natural Causes |
| Matheson | Fred | 1979 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Methane explosion, sparked by coal shearer hitting stone; 1 of 12 killed |
| MacDonald | Ronald | 1984 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Fire |
| Simpson | John | 1866 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery (Queen pit) | Run over by wagons |
| McMullen | Kenneth | 1871 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery (Queen pit) | Explosion of powder or fall of coal |
| Burchell | John | 1877 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Fell down shaft |
| Keigan | Angus | 1883 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Run over by coal tub |
| Morrison | Murdock | 1890 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Run over by empty trip |
| Finlayson | John | 1894 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fall of coal, died 15 days later |
| Crowly | Eli | 1898 | Cape Breton County | Bridgeport | Fall of roof stone |
| Campbell | Alexander | 1899 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fall of loose coal from hung shot |
| McDonald | John | 1900 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Fall of stone at head of deep |
| McDonald | John Y. | 1902 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Fall of coal from face |
| Nearing | Patrick | 1903 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fall of coal |
| Whiteway | William | 1903 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Methane explosion No.5 S level, French slope; died from burns 3 days later |
| Borden | Alex | 1905 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Fall of coal from face |
| McVicar | Allen | 1906 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of stone from roof |
| Dericimn | F. | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Fall of coal |
| McKenzie | Archy | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fall of coal |
| McDonald | J.A. | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 3 | Fall of stone |
| McDonald | James | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 and No. 9 Surface plant | Boiler explosion; maybe 4th man killed in an explosion or is a separate explosion |
| Holley | Edward | 1909 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 6 | Driving when box derailed, knocked out prop, roof fell, killing him |
| Carroll | William | 1910 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Jammed between coal hoppers at surface |
| McLellan | James | 1897 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Fall of coal from pillar |
| Child | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Polish child, age 2; killed by cars on the surface | |
| Aexter | Alex | 1911 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines No. 3 (Florence) | Explosion |
| Vitus | Armond | 1912 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Fall of stone |
| Batchford | David | 1913 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fall of stone |