On July 8, 1917, renowned Canadian artist Tom Thomson, 39, disappeared during a canoe trip on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park. His body was discovered eight days later. Today his death is still shrouded in mystery: was it an accident, suicide or murder? Where are his remains buried?<\/p>\n
An instructor at the University of Guelph-Humber, Gregory Klages, BA \u201994, MA \u201902, has been studying the circumstances of Thomson\u2019s death for 10 years and examines the evidence in a new book, The Many Deaths of Tom Thomson: Separating Fact from Fiction<\/em>. On the eve of the centenary of Thomson\u2019s death we talk to Klages about the painter\u2019s demise.<\/p>\n GK: Thomson died a tragic, mysterious death and the \u201cfacts\u201d have never stabilized long enough to get boring. Human remains discovered decades after his death suggest an entirely alternate version of events from the original account. Eyewitness testimony changed repeatedly and new \u201cwitnesses\u201d were still coming forward 60 years after the fact. It seems like the plot of a bestselling crime fiction.<\/p>\n GK: Thomson\u2019s body was buried in Algonquin Park the day after it was found. His family immediately had his remains exhumed and reburied near Owen Sound. Still, some believe his body was never moved. They claim remains found in the park in 1956 are Thomson\u2019s, despite contrary findings by police forensic experts.<\/p>\n GK: I consider the abundant documents produced by Thomson, his friends and family before and after his death. I also closely consider materials produced by those who have investigated Thomson\u2019s death over the last century to help understand how the story about his death has evolved.<\/p>\n GK: In The Many Deaths of Tom Thomson<\/em> I explain how those findings are dubious. The forensics involved is quite subjective \u2013 it doesn\u2019t involve anything nearly as authoritative as DNA, for example. Much of the argument for Thomson\u2019s body remaining in the park is very difficult to reconcile with evidence from 1917.<\/p>\n GK: I will say this: I consider the most popular theories about how Thomson died \u2013 accident, murder, suicide \u2013 and offer a comprehensive review of the evidence related to the case. I also subject almost a century of speculation to rigorous analysis. The approach reveals deep flaws in some of the main theories \u2014 I hope as the book progresses, what happened to Thomson emerges as obvious. Of course, it will be up to readers to decide if they are as convinced. \u2013 TERESA PITMAN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On July 8, 1917, renowned Canadian artist Tom Thomson, 39, disappeared during a canoe trip on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park. His body was discovered eight days later. Today his death is still shrouded in mystery: was it an accident, suicide or murder? Where are his remains buried? An instructor at the University of Guelph-Humber,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1449,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"Photo by George Nikitaras","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":null,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":null},"categories":[25],"tags":[98,163,161,164,52,162],"yoast_head":"\nP: Why has this mystery captivated people for almost 100 years?<\/h3>\n
P: Why is there so much controversy over Thomson\u2019s burial place?<\/h3>\n
P: What kind of evidence do you look at in your book?<\/h3>\n
P: What about forensics performed in 2010 that suggest the body in the grave at Canoe Lake \u2013 found with a hole in the skull \u2013 is indeed Tom Thomson?<\/h3>\n
P: What do you think happened?<\/h3>\n