National Post - On this day, Sept. 24 1906

Social scientist Leonard Marsh, who pioneered research into the Canadian class system, was born at London, England. Marsh came to Canada in 1930. He was director of an interdisciplinary social science research program at McGill 1930-'41 and an early member of the League for Social Reconstruction.

His book, Canadians In and Out of Work (1940), was the first significant analysis of the impact of social class on Canadian society. Although the government paid little attention at the time, most of the major elements in his program had become law by 1966 and are the basis of the modern Canadian Social Security system.