Media and communications theorist at the University of Toronto. Innis followed history through the conflicts between institutions built on rival media, all the way from clay and papyrus to the telegraph and radio. He often dropped by Marshall McLuhan's discussion meetings in 1950-1952, as his treatises on media and communications were published. McLuhan was excited by the prospect of working with Innis, but it was not to be, due to Innis's untimely death.