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 30 of 50 pages (2497 entries).
| Surname |
Given Name(s) |
Year | County | Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foster | John A. | 1912 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines No. 3 (Florence) | Fall of stone |
| McNeil | John A. | 1903 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Run over by loaded box |
| Rickets | John A. | 1903 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Killed by fall of coal |
| MacNeil | John A. | 1963 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 18 | Haulage |
| Campbell | John A. | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fall of stone |
| Campbell | John A. | 1885 | Pictou County | Vale | Devastating methane explosion |
| MacNeil | John A. | 1979 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Methane explosion, sparked by coal shearer hitting stone; 1 of 12 killed |
| McLellan | John A. | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
| MacIsaac | John A. | 1951 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 18A | Haulage |
| Martell | John Alexander | 1970 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 12 | Squeezed between 2 boxes on material landing |
| McDonald | John B. | 1901 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Struck by falling roof stone while undercutting with machine |
| Taylor | John B. | 1919 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Caught in fly wheel |
| Bartlett | John C. | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fall of coal |
| Fraser | John Clarence | 1938 | Inverness | Port Hood or Henderson | Fall of stone |
| Campbell | John D | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| McNeil | John D. | 1904 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Methane explosion |
| Small | John D. | 1900 | Pictou County | Albion | Fall of coal |
| McNeil | John D. | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Fall caused by trip |
| McKay | John D. | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Methane and blasting powder explosion |
| Gillis | John D. | 1899 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fell out of cage when descending shaft |
| Walsh | John D. | 1924 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Carbon monoxide suffocation after explosion; 1 of 4 killed |
| McIsaac | John D. | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Fall of stone while timbering, died 5 days later |
| Munro | John D. | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 15 | Run over by a trip of cars |
| McEachern | John D. | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| MacRae | John Duncan | 1930 | Pictou County | Acadia No. 3 (Six-Foot) | Fall of Stone |
| Stephenson | John E. | 1912 | Cumberland | Scotia | Fall of stone |
| Fraser | John E. | 1921 | Pictou County | Albion | Fall of coal |
| Burton | John Edward | 1929 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 6 | Injured by trip |
| Jowett or Gowett | John Ernest | 1920 | Cumberland | Victoria | cause not recorded |
| MacArthur | John F. | 1934 | Pictou County | Acadia No. 3 (Six-Foot) | Head crushed between boxes |
| Lewis | John F. | 1943 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 | Crushed between trip and air line |
| MacInnis | John F. | 1974 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Struck by empty mine car trip |
| Currie | John F. | 1942 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 18 | Struck by trip |
| McNeil | John F. or John P. | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Clarke | John G. | 1932 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of coal |
| McNeil | John H. | 1909 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of coal |
| Roy | John H. | 1904 | Pictou County | Albion | Killed instantly in a fall |
| McKenzie | John H. | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Rescue work after explosion |
| McNeil | John H. | 1935 | Pictou County | Albion | Fall of coal |
| Coleman | John H. | 1908 or 1909 | Cumberland | Joggins | Suffocated by smoke |
| Murphy | John H. | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of stone |
| McKenzie | John H. | 1931 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 14 | Run over by trip |
| MacInnis or MacInnes | John Henry | 1940 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Fall of roof coal, died 4 days later |
| Chisholm | John J. | 1910 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of pillar stone |
| Vienneau or Veneau | John J. | 1940 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 4 | Caught between box and boom |
| Smith | John J. | 1926 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Coal fall that had him buried for 2 hours |
| MacLean | John J. | 1966 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Haulage: Hit by an empty trip |
| McDougall | John J. | 1928 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 14 | Hit by a small stone |
| Gouthro | John J. | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Struck by empty trip |
| MacIntosh | John J. | 1949 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Fall of stone |