Richard Keith Downey, OC

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

, FRSC

Royal Society of Canada

The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...

 (born January 26, 1927) is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 agricultural scientist and, as one of the originators of canola

Canola

Canola refers to a cultivar of either Rapeseed or Field Mustard . Its seeds are used to produce edible oil suitable for consumption by humans and livestock. The oil is also suitable for use as biodiesel.Originally, Canola was bred naturally from rapeseed in Canada by Keith Downey and Baldur R...

, became known as the "Father of Canola".

Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, In 1951 he received a B.S.A. and in 1952 a M.Sc. from the University of Saskatchewan

University of Saskatchewan

The University of Saskatchewan is a Canadian public research university, founded in 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. An "Act to establish and incorporate a University for the Province of Saskatchewan" was passed by the...

. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 in 1961. In 1951 he started working for Agriculture Canada, becoming in 1993 a Senior Research Scientist Emeritus. In 1993, he started his own firm and is President of Canoglobe Consulting Inc.

He worked with Baldur Stefansson

Baldur Stefansson

Baldur Rosmund Stefansson, OC, OM was a Canadian agricultural scientist and as one of the originators of canola, becameknown as the "Father of Canola"....

 to develop a variety of rapeseed

Rapeseed

Rapeseed , also known as rape, oilseed rape, rapa, rappi, rapaseed is a bright yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae...

 that could be used as an edible oilhttp://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=348. This is known as canola and is one of Canada’s top edible oils and one of the largest oilseed crops in the world. He is the breeder and co-breeder of 13 rapeseed/canola varieties and five condiment mustard varieties.

In 1998, "Downey Street" at a research and development park in Saskatoon was named in his honour.

Honours

• 1963 Bond Gold Medal, American Oil Chemists’ Society
• 1968 Public Service Merit Award, Government of Canada
• 1971 Honorary Life Membership Canadian Seed Growers’ Association
• 1973 Grindley Medal, Agriculture Institute of Canada
• 1975 Honorary Life Membership Saskatchewan
  Saskatchewan
  Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
  
   Rapeseed Growers’ Association
• 1975 Royal Bank Award, Royal Bank
• 1976 Officer, Order of Canada
  Order of Canada
  The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
  
  
• 1976 Fellow, Agriculture Institute of Canada
• 1977 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal
• 1979 Fellow Royal Society of Canada
  Royal Society of Canada
  The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
  
  
• 1982 Century Saskatoon Award, City of Saskatoon
• 1986 Distinguished Graduate Award, University of Saskatchewan, College of Agriculture
• 1990 Gold Medal, co-recipient, Professional Institute of Canada
• 1992 Commemorative Medal for 125th Anniversary of Canada
• 1994 Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Saskatchewan
• 1994 Clark-Newman Award, Canadian Seed Growers Association
• 1995 J. Mcansh Award, Canola Council of Canada
• 1995 Eminent Scientist Award / Groupe Consultatif International de Recherche sur le Colza
• 1995 Médaille Chevreul / Association Francaise pour l’Etude des Corps Gras, France
• 1996 Hall of Fame, Saskatchewan Agriculture Hall of Fame
• 1997 Honorary Doctorate of Law University of Lethbridge
  University of Lethbridge
  The University of Lethbridge is a publicly-funded comprehensive academic and research university, founded in the liberal education tradition, located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with two other urban campuses in Calgary and Edmonton. The main building sits among the coulees on the west side of...
  
  
• 1997 Recognition Award, Canadian Seed Trade Association
• 2000 Honorary Life Membership Saskatchewan Agriculture Graduates Association
• 2002 Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame
• 2002 Queen’s Jubilee Medal