John "Jake" Turnbull was born in Montreal. He graduated from McGill University in 1897 and soon after came to British Columbia as a mining engineer. In 1915 he was asked by University of British Columbia President F.F. Wesbrook to advise the University on the establishment of a mining education program. He was offered the post of head of the Mining Department and, in accepting, became the second appointment to the University. From that date until 1945, when he retired, Turnbull headed the Department of Mining and Metallurgy in the Faculty of Applied Science. Turnbull was active in his emeritus years, frequently coming to campus to give special lectures. His last visit to the campus was in 1979 when at the age of 101, he lectured on the mining industry in British Columbia at the turn of the century.