Ronald Caplan

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}

{{Infobox person

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Ronald Caplan

| honorific_suffix = CM

| image = Ron Caplan 2011.jpg|

| caption = Ron Caplan in the Cape Breton Island Highlands, January 2011, shortly after being appointed to the Order of Canada

| birth_name =

| birth_date = 1945

| birth_place = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

| nationality = American-Canadian

| education =

| alma_mater =

| occupation = Publisher

| years_active = 1972 – present

| known_for = Cape Breton's Magazine

| awards = Order of Canada

| footnotes =

}}

Ronald (Ron) Caplan, {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|CM}} (born 1945) is a publisher, writer, folk-historian, and Member of the Order of Canada.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1945, Ronald Caplan emigrated to Canada in 1971.{{Cite news

|last = Staff

|title = A deserving honour for Ron Caplan

|page = A6

|newspaper = The Cape Breton Post

|location = Sydney, Nova Scotia

|date = 4 January 2011

|url = http://www.capebretonpost.com/Opinion/Letters-to-the-Editor/2011-01-03/article-2087755/A-deserving-honour-for-Ron-Caplan/1

|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20111002055205/http://www.capebretonpost.com/Opinion/Letters-to-the-Editor/2011-01-03/article-2087755/A-deserving-honour-for-Ron-Caplan/1

|archivedate = 2 October 2011

|accessdate = 15 January 2011

|url-status = live}} He moved to Canada's Maritimes and, in 1972, he and his young family settled down in Cape Breton Island's Highlands region, and began chronicling the local history. This was a region where Canadian Gaelic – a dialect of Scottish Gaelic – was still the predominant language spoken by people in the area, but was quickly being replaced by English. Sensing that he would have only a time-limited opportunity to record this culture before its native speakers died off, he founded Cape Breton's Magazine in 1972, to record the culture and living history of the island and its people. Foxfire Magazine provided the inspiration for the magazine's design and layout, while Robert Frank influenced his photographic style.{{Cite news

|last = Sutherland

|first = Steve

|title = Honouring a Legacy

|newspaper = Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

|location = Sydney, Nova Scotia

|date = 31 December 2010

|url = http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningcb/2010/12/honouring-a-legacy.html

|format = Podcast

|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20121108174343/http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningcb/2010/12/honouring-a-legacy.html

|archivedate = 8 November 2012

|accessdate = 15 January 2011

|url-status = live}} His audio recordings and photographs are a lasting record of this way of life that has mostly disappeared.{{Cite news

|last = Staff

|title = Nova Scotians named to Order of Canada

|newspaper = Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

|location = Halifax, Nova Scotia

|date = 30 December 2010

|url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotians-named-to-order-of-canada-1.878398

|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110103021733/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotians-named-to-order-of-canada-1.878398

|archivedate = 3 January 2011

|accessdate = 15 January 2011

|url-status = live}} He was appointed to the Order of Canada on 30 December 2010 for his work on the magazine, and as the publisher of the Breton Books imprint.{{cite web

|url= http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13995&lan=eng

|title=Order of Canada - Appointments: The Governor General announces 54 new appointments to the Order of Canada

|publisher=Governor General of Canada

|accessdate=15 January 2011

|date=30 December 2010}}