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Pierre Francis Berton (1920-2004) was a well known author of Canadian history, a television personality and a journalist.
He was born July 12, 1920 in Whitehorse, Yukon and lived in Dawson City from 1921 until 1932 when the family moved to Victoria. His father, Frank Berton, had travelled north during the Klondike Gold Rush and his mother, Laura Beatrice (nee Thompson) moved to Dawson City in 1907 to teach kindergarten. She met Frank in the nearby mining town of Granville.
Pierre worked in Klondike mining camps during his years as a history major at the University of British Columbia. In 1942 he was conscripted into the Canadian Army and went overseas in March 1945. After the war he worked for the Vancouver Sun and then joined Maclean's magazine in Toronto. Pierre and his wife Janet settled in Kleinburg, north of the city, and raised eight children.
In 1957 Pierre narrated the National Film Board of Canada documentary "City of Gold" which explored life in his hometown of Dawson City during the Klondike Gold Rush. One of his first books was "Klondike" (1958) and in 2004 Pierre published his 50th book, "Prisoners of the North".
His childhood home in Dawson City, now called the Berton House, is a writer's retreat. Pierre Berton died November 30, 2004.
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