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 11 of 50 pages (2498 entries).
| Surname |
Given Name(s) |
Year | County | Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter | Robert | 1969 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Fall of stone |
| Harvey | Robert | 1867 | Pictou County | Cage pit | Gas suffocation |
| McFadden | Robert | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| MacLeod | Robert | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Cunningham | Robert | 1952 | Pictou County | McGregor | Methane explosion (localized); 1 of 19 killed |
| Ferguson | Robenich | 1903 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery; Nova Scotia Steel & Coal | Fall of stone |
| Piggot | Richard | 1917 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Fall of coal |
| Dawson | Richard | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Costigan | Richard | 1892 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 | Struck by timber lowered down slope |
| Dixon | Richard | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Broken cable on riding rake; 1 of 21 killed |
| Skinner | Richard | 1925 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Fall of stone |
| Lawlor | Richard | 1914 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Runaway box |
| Morrison | Richard | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Broken cable on riding rake; 1 of 21 killed |
| Clark | Richard | 1935 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Shot blew back exploding methane and coal dust; 1 of 7 killed |
| Fowler | Richard | 1943 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Crushed while working on screens |
| Wynn | Richard | 1909 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 3 | Pick boy; Run over by full box |
| Butts | Richard | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Methane and blasting powder explosion |
| Ellis | Richard | 1956 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 4 | Electricity-fired coal dust explosion |
| Miller | Richard | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Methane and blasting powder explosion |
| White | Richard | 1962 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Haulage |
| Chase | Richard | 1918 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 9 | Caught between shaft and car |
| Ashworth | Richard | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of coal |
| Murphy | Richard | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Gardiner | Richard | 1950 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Haulage |
| Jewer | Rich. | 1915 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Shunter, killed by car on surface |
| Penny | Reuben | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Methane and blasting powder explosion |
| Drolet | Remi Joseph | 1992 | Pictou County | Westray | Devastating methane and coal dust explosion |
| MacNeil | Reginald A. | 1979 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Methane explosion, sparked by coal shearer hitting stone; 1 of 12 killed |
| Carter | Reed | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Collogani | Redolph | 1913 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Jammed between boxes |
| Gallant | Raymond | 1928 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Killed by rake |
| Tabor | Raymond | 1958 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Terrific, devastating bump |
| House | Randolph Brian | 1992 | Pictou County | Westray | Devastating methane and coal dust explosion |
| McDonald | Ranald or Ronald | 1911 | Inverness | Inverness | Fall of coal; head crushed |
| Carter | Ralston | 1935 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Struck by full car on back slope |
| Clarke | Ralph | 1956 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 4 | Electricity-fired coal dust explosion |
| Aylward | Ralph | 1958 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Terrific, devastating bump |
| Strople | Ralph | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of coal |
| Gilhomes | R. D. | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 7 | Run over by trip of cars |
| Rocker | R. | 1906 | Cape Breton County | International | Fall of stone from roof |
| MacPherson | R. | 1869 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Crushed by coal tubs |
| McEwan | R. | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Explosion of methane |
| Broderick | R. | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 4 (Scotia) | Struck by runaway box down main slope; 1 of 3 killed |
| Fraser | Preston | 1913 | Pictou County | Vale | Fall of coal |
| Pyke | Pleaman | 1956 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 4 | On bankhead, Electricity-fired coal dust explosion |
| Balzoni | Pietro | 1934 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
| Smeyers | Pierre | 1925 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Fall of stone |
| Leshambre | Pierre | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
| Davidonkow | Pichon | 1923 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Bump caused fall of stone in room/bord |
| McBeth or MacBeath | Phillip | 1885 | Pictou County | Vale | Devastating methane explosion |