George H. Nelms (1905 – September 17, 1999) was mayor of Ottawa from 1957 to 1960.[1] He was an optician by profession. Nelms was born in Thame, Oxfordshire, England in 1905 and came to Canada in 1912. He had two sons, Larry and John and two daughters, Linda and Jane.

George H. Nelms
Nelms (left) with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1957.
47th Mayor of Ottawa
In office
1957–1960
Preceded byCharlotte Whitton
Succeeded byCharlotte Whitton
Ottawa Controller
In office
1955–1956
Preceded byJohn Powers
Succeeded byWilbert Hamilton & Sam Berger
Personal details
Born1905
Thame, Oxfordshire, England
DiedSeptember 17, 1999
Ottawa

During his term as Mayor, he would welcome Queen Elizabeth and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh to the city in 1957, a visit which included a ceremony to commence construction of the Queensway superhighway project. On June 24, 1957, Nelms opened Laurentian High School. In 1958, Nelms saw the opening of a new city hall facility on Green Island. He was also chair of the Ottawa Transportation Commission under whose watch electric streetcar transit service was replaced with buses.

Nelms died in Ottawa at Grace Hospital aged 94.

References

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  1. ^ "Reason to be Happy". Ottawa Citizen. December 4, 1956. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  • Buchanan, Carrie (17 September 1999). "Former Ottawa mayor `couldn't do enough' for his community: Sharp businessman was champion of Grace Hospital (obituary)". Ottawa Citizen. p. F7.
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