Coal Mining Fatalities
This database contains 2498 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 48 of 50 pages (2498 entries).
| Surname |
Given Name(s) |
Year | County | Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McDonald | William | 1937 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Struck by trip |
| Jones | William | 1956 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 4 | On bankhead, Electricity-fired coal dust explosion |
| Holm | William | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
| Gumatto | William | 1912 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | uncertain if killed; confusing records |
| Hamilton | William | 1950 | Pictou County | Albion | Fall of coal |
| Turnbull | William | 1873 | Pictou County | Vale | Under a falling derrick |
| White | William | 1930 | Cumberland | Victoria No. 2 | Gas explosion; 1 of 7 killed |
| Layton | William | 1937 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Injured while riding trip |
| Blake | William | 1952 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Methane explosion; 1 of 7 killed |
| Willis | William | 1899 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Fall of roof stone whilst driving |
| Snow | William | 1930 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Struck head on roof when box jumped track |
| McCallum | William | 1931 | Cumberland | Victoria No. 4 (Bright Light Mine) | Went over surface dump with car |
| Bonar | William | 1952 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Methane explosion; 1 of 7 killed |
| McKenzie | William | 1908 | Inverness | Port Hood | Explosion on No. 3 level south; 1 of 10 killed |
| Hurley | William | 1913 | Cumberland | Lawson | Tube of boiler burst |
| Hannaham or Hanrahan | William | 1883 | Pictou County | Vale | Drawbar broke, crash of runaway slope rake |
| Partner | William | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
| Kendell | William | 1929 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
| Desmond | William | 1952 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Methane explosion; 1 of 7 killed |
| Forrest | William | 1944 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Fall of stone |
| Andrews | William | 1873 | Cape Breton County | Gowrie | Fall of coal |
| Rodgers | William | 1873 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Devastating methane explosion |
| Paterson | William | 1912 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Fall of coal |
| Campbell | William | 1884 | Pictou County | Albion | Premature explosion of a shot |
| Wilkie | William | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Broken cable on riding rake; 1 of 21 killed |
| Nicholson | William | 1927 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Squeezed between box and pillar |
| Morrison | William | 1913 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 8 | Struck by box |
| Lettuce | William | 1958 | Cape Breton County | Tomson | Explosion |
| Dunbar | William | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Cooke | William | 1979 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Methane explosion, sparked by coal shearer hitting stone; 1 of 12 killed |
| Gillespie | William | 1913 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Caught between box at 4700 bottom |
| Luffman | William | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Broken cable on riding rake; 1 of 21 killed |
| Parsons | William | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Methane and blasting powder explosion |
| McLellan | William | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
| Lewis | William | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| McDonald | William | 1887 | Cumberland | Springhill | Fall of coal from face |
| McSephney | William | 1955 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Killed by haulage |
| Spencer | William | 1897 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Burned by compressed powder |
| McLeod | William | 1952 | Pictou County | McGregor | Methane explosion (localized); 1 of 19 killed |
| McNamara | William | 1877 | Cape Breton County | Lingan | Explosion of boiler; 1 of 3 killed |
| Patton | William | 1883 | Cumberland | Chignecto | Suffocated by carbonic acid (1 of 3 killed) |
| Stentley | William | 1914 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Fall of coal |
| Muller | William | 1912 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Fall of top coal at face of pillar |
| Hachey | William | 1932 | Cumberland | Maple Leaf No. 4 | Dust and gas explosion; 1 of 5 killed |
| McLeod | William | 1896 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Killed by coal fall while removing coal leg |
| McLutchy | William | 1890 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fall of stone from roof, died 5 weeks later |
| Burke | William | 1866 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Fall of picks in shaft |
| Walsh | William | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
| Whittle | William | 1956 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Fall of stone |
| Carey | William | 1905 | Cape Breton County | New Campbellton | Killed on main slope by the trip |