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©
Copyright © 2004-2020 Dawn E. Monroe. All rights reserved. |
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The names appearing are just a fraction of the Canadian
women of accomplishment.
Check out The Famous Canadian Women 's
section ON THE JOB
which contains mini profiles of 3000
Canadian Women of Achievement.
|
|
1870's |
Elizabeth Barrett Died
1888, Morleyville, Alberta. Like many young women of her era Elizabeth
attended Normal school to become a teacher. In 1874 she was teaching at
Orone, Ontario when she decided to head the call for teachers and
missionaries to go to the Canadian Northwest. Her 1st post
was at Whitefish Lake Mission100 miles northeast of Fort Edmonton with
the Rev. Henry Bird Steinhauer ‘Shawahnekezhik, an Ontario Ojibwa she
was the 1st First Nation Christian Missionary in the
Northwest. Elizabeth taught there two years and made sure that Henry’s
son, Egerton Steinhauer could continue with the Whitefish Lake school.
While at Whitefish Lake Elizabeth had learned the Cree language. In 1877
she was one of six white women to sign Treaty No. 7 with the local
tribes. Her second assignment was with Reverend George McDougall and his
family at the Morley Mission. Here she studied the language and customs
of the Stoney. She was soon relocated to Fort Macleod where she opened a
public School, the 1st in southern Alberta. She also held the
1st Methodist Religeous Services at Fort Macleod. Suffering
from ill health she returned to Morleyville. Cochrane, Alberta is proud
to be home to the
Elizabeth Barrett Elementary School, named for the 1st
professional teacher in Alberta.
Source: 200 remarkable Alberta women. Online (Accessed October
2014) |
Onésime Dorval
Born
August 3, 1845 St. Jérôme ,Lower Canada (Quebec). Died December 10,
1932, Rosthern, Saskatchewan. Onésime was a devoted Roman Catholic
Métis. She had hoped to serve with the Sisters of Good Shepherd in New
York, U.S.A. but it was felt that her poor health would keep her from
being devoted to completing her duties and she did not take her final
vows. She had earned her teaching certificate at the Ecole Modèle at St.
Jérôme and soon found herself heading for the Canadian North West to
apply her trade. She is conceded the 1st
certified teacher in Saskatchewan. In 1877 she travelled to
the Red River Settlement at Fort Garry (now Winnipeg). She also taught
at St Albert and St. Laurent de Grandin in Saskatchewan, where she
helped establish the Our Lady of Lourdes grotto. From 1894-1914 she
taught at Batoche No. 1 School District where she also worked as a
housekeeper for local clergy and provided board for students were far
from home. She went on to Aldina and back to St Laurent de Grandin. She
retired from teaching in 1921, living and serving the Sisters of
Presentation. It was here that she wrote her memoires. On June 7, 1954
the Canadian Historic Sites and Monuments Board had her declared a
Person of National Historic Significance. in her honor. In 1994 the
Division scolaire francophone established the Prix Onésime Dorval Award
annually presented to exemplary and dedicated teachers. October 2, 2002
a plaque showing her story was unvalued in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan by
the Government of Canada.
Source: Dorval, Onésime (1845-1932) Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan.
Online (Accessed May 2014)
|
1880's |
Alice Maud Dunning Grant.
(née
Fitch) Born 1865 New Minas, Nova Scotia. Died March 1946 Wolfville, Nova
Scotia. On June 4, 1885 she became the second woman to graduate from
Acadia University. The following year, 1886,
she was the 1st woman to receive
a Master’s Degree from Acadia University. From 1989 to 1893 she
taught at Acadia Ladies Seminary. In 1893 she moved to Toronto serving
as Principal of Moulton College. On June 17, 1896 she married Rev.
Donald Grant and the couple moved to Quebec City where their two
children were born. In 1904 there were in Strafford, Ontario but soon
moved to Santa Barbara, California, U.S.A. for Donald’s failing health.
By 1906 Alice and her children were settled in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
Alice taught Latin and History at Acadia Ladies Seminary until she
retired in 1925. After retirement she became librarian at Morse Library
at Acadia University. She would become the first woman to serve on the
Senate of Acadia University.
Source:
Biography,
Esther Clark Wright Archives, Acadia University online. Accessed April
2013. |
Eliza Ritchie.
Born Halifax, Nova Scotia May 20, 1856. Died September 5, 1935. An
educator, feminist and author in 1889 Eliza received her Ph.D. from
Cornell University in the United States.
She is probably the first Canadian woman to have received a doctor of letters.
Her appointment to the
Dalhousie University board of governors in 1919 is also a first for
Canadian women. |
1900's |
Marie Arzélie Éva Circé-Côté.
née Circé.
Born January 31,1871 Montreal, Quebec. Died May 4,
1949 Montreal, Quebec. Éva was a bright student winning a bronze
medal for literature from the Governor General. She also excelled in her
studies in French and music. In 1900 she joined the staff of the
newspaper Les Debats. As a prolific journalist Éva used
several pen names including Colombine, Musette, Jean Nay, Fantasio,
Arthur Maheu, Julien Saint-Michel and Paul S. Bédard. writing works for
a dozen different newspapers. In 1902 she co-founded the literary
journal L’Étincelle. In 1903 her
1st play Hindeland et De Lorimer,
was produced by the Théâtre
National Français, in Montréal was
produced by the During this era women oven used male pen names so
that their works would be published. Éva also wrote poetry and was a
playwright. She was
Montreal's 1st Librarian in 1903 at the 1st public
library. She also served as the
curator of the prestigious
Philéas Gagnon collection, of rare and
antiquarian Canadian books. A staunch feminist she stood up for
compulsory education for everyone and fought for the status of women.
April 19, 1905 she married a physician, Pierre-Salomon Côté (d 1909) and
the couple had one child. In 1908 Éva was the co-founder of a secular
high school for girls which ran for two years. In 1922 she was a
founding member of the Canadian Authors association and served as 1st
vice-president of the French section. The library forced Éva to retire
in 1932. After her retirement she became a spokesperson for Filles
natives du Canada the female counterpart of the Native Sons of Canada.
Having used so many pen names she died not having been recognized for
all her numerous writings. (2019) |
1910's |
Carrie Matilda Derick.
Born January 14, 1862 Clarenceville, Quebec. Died
November 10, 1941 Montreal, Quebec. Carrie attended Clarenceville Academy
and received her teacher training at McGill Normal School in 1881. She
was teaching when she was just 15 and by the time she was 19 she was a
school principal! She would go onto study for her Bachelor degree at McGill
University, Montreal in 1890 as top of her class.
She began teaching at the Trafalgar Institute for Girls
in 1890, while also working part-time as McGill's first female botany
demonstrator.
She went on to earn her Master's
degree
in 1896 and then on to study at the Academy of Science, London England,
Harvard University, USA, and Bonn University, Germany. Although she
completed the required research to earn a PhD from University of Bonn,
Germany she did not receive her degrees because the university did not
give degrees to women. Returning to Canada to Canada and McGill in
1905 she was promoted to Assistant professor at one-third the salary of
male colleagues. In 1909 she took on the role of chair for the
Department of Biology when the former head was ill. Upon the death of
the ill professor in 1910 Carrie continued as Chair of the department
for another three years. In the 1910 American Men of Sciences
Carrie was listed as one of the few women in the publication. In 1912
McGill searched for a male head of the department. In
1912 she was officially
appointed as professor and
Carrie became the
1st woman professor at an university in Canada.
A feminist and activist she was President of the Montreal Suffrage
Association from 1913 through 1919. She believed strongly in Birth
control the need for mandatory school attendance and care for 'abnormal'
children. From
1920 to 1937 Carrie was the 1st Woman on the Protestant Committee of
Public Health in Quebec.
She did not receive a raise in pay for this promotion or a seat
on the faculty as she was considered to hold 'courtesy title'
only. Carrie would found the McGill University Genetics Department. Upon
retirement from McGill in 1929
due to poor health she was awarded the
honorary title of Professor Emerita making her the 1st Canadian woman to
hold this tile. She was also and activist
in women's rights. and a co-founder and a life member of the National
Council of Women. Montreal boasts of a Carrie Derick stree. McGill
University created the Carrie M. Derick Award for Graduate Supervising
and Training. In 2007 Carrie Derick became designated as a National
Historic Person. Google, the internet search engine created a 'Google
Doodle' in recognition of her 155th birthday January 14, 2017.
|
Lillian
Helena Smith.
Born March 17, 1887
London, Ontario.
Died 1983. Graduating
with her BA from the University of Toronto in 1910 Lillian trained as a
children's librarian at he Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
U.S.A. In 1911 she worked at the Children's Department of the New York
Public Library and within three weeks of being hired she was in charge
of the children's room at the Washington Heights Branch Library in New
York City, U.S.A. The following year in 1912
she was hired to organize the children's department for the city of
Toronto, becoming the 1st trained children's librarian in Canada. She
would devote the next 40 years of her working life to the development of the
children's collection within the Toronto Public Library. Lillian also
led the idea of the importance of libraries in schools. In 1928, when
the University of Toronto established its post graduate Library School,
Lillian was on staff to teach Children's literature until she retired in
1952.In the early 30's she served on the Executive Board of the American
Library Association and chaired it's Children's Services Division
thorough the 1940's. In 1930 she developed a special
classification system fitted to children's books. This system was in use
for some 30 years before it was accepted that the Dewey Classification
would be used in the Toronto Board of Education. Up until 1999 some
public libraries still used the Smith classification for picture books.
Retiring in 1952 her legacy was in print with her book The Unreluctant
Years. The book was also translated into Italian and Japanese. In 1962
she was the 1st Canadian to earn the Clarence Day Award . It is in her honor
that the Toronto main children's library is named; The Lillian H. Smith
Library. It houses an electronic resource center, the Osborne Collection of
Early Children's books, the Lillian H. Smith Collection, the science fiction
fantasy and horror collection (known as the Merrit Collection), the Bagshaw
collection of puppetry and children's drama, videos, CD's and lots and lots
of children's books to be read and loved. Source:
Personal contact with Toronto Public Library 2002) |
1920's |
Mary Louise
Bollert
Born
Guelph, Ontario 1884. Died Vancouver, British Columbia , August 1, 1945.
Mary Louise attended the University of Toronto and graduated in 1906. Her
Masters degree was earned a Columbia University, New York, U.S.A. in 1908.
She worked as Director of women’s education and social welfare programs in
Toronto and then moved on to be Dean of Women at Regina College in 1914 to
1921. In 1921
she was appointed the First Dean of Women at the University of British
Columbia, a position she retained for 20 years. She was a founder of the British Columbia Teachers
Federation and a delegate to several international women’s conferences.
She was President of the Confederation of University women in 1929-30.
Suggested reading: Lee Stewart. It’s Up to You:
Women at UBC in
the early Years.
Source:
http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/whoswho (accessed June 2009 )
|
Madeleine Alberta Fritz. Born Born November 3, 1896 St John, New Brunswick.
Died August 20, 1990. Madeleine graduated with her Bachelor of Arts
degree from McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. A summer job
inspired her to return to university to earn a geology degree from
the University of Toronto in 1923 earning both a Masters degree and
then a PhD in 1926. . She is the 1st woman
in Canada to receive that level of studies in geology. She
pursued a career as a paleontologist, she would rise to associate
director of the Royal Ontario Museum of Paleontology.
For many years she was a geology professor at the University
of Toronto. She was only the 2nd woman in Canada to be elected
to the Royal Society of Canada. She has written numerous substantial
articles for scholarly journals. In 1967 she received the Canadian
Centennial Medal. Her scientific studies of the Toronto
Area stand as definite works. |
Mattie Rotenberg
(née
Levi) Born 1897, Toronto, Ontario. Died 1989, Toronto, Ontario. Evan as
a child she exhibited a powerful desire for leaning and retention of
knowledge. In 1921 she earned her BA in Mathematics and physics from the
University of Toronto. In 1924 she married Meyer Rotenberg (1894-1958) a
lawyer and businessman. The couple would have 5 children. By
1926 she
had completed her doctorate and was the
1st
woman and 1st Jew to earn a PhD in Physics at the University
of Toronto. Her thesis “on the
characteristics X-rays from light elements” was actually published in
1924. In 1929 she founded the Hillcrest Progressive School the 1st
Jewish Day School in Toronto. She served as a director through to 1944.
Mattie also enjoyed being a journalist, in 1930 she worked for the
Jewish Standard writing a women’s column. From 1939 through 1966 she
was a regular commentator on the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (C.B.C.)
Trans Canada Matinee, which was dedicated to women’s issues. In
1945 her work was recognized by the Canadian Women’s Press Club (CWPC)
with the presentation of the Memorial Award. In 1947 she covered the
session at the United Nations and the Status of Women for the C.B.C. By
1941 she had returned to the University of Toronto where until 1968 she
was a demonstrator at the University physics laboratory. She was always
a strong family oriented person who made sure the younger generations
knew of their religious beliefs.
Sources:
Mattie Levi Rotenberg by Nessa Rapoport. We Remember, Jewish
Women’s Archives. Online Accessed December 2012.
|
1940's |
Maureen "Mimi"
Mitchell Donald
Born November 19, 1917 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Died Vancouver, British
Columbia September 24, 2012. She became deaf as a toddler and was
educated in schools for the deaf in Winnipeg and Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan. In 1945
she became the 1st teacher of deaf
children at the British Columbia
Provincial Jericho Hill
School for the Deaf, Vancouver. She remained at the school until her
retirement in 1978. She was awarded an honorary doctor of laws in 2000
from the University of British Columbia which considered her the 20th
centuries most outstanding teacher of the deaf in Canada. She was the 1st
woman president of the Vancouver Association of the Deaf and was on the
executive of the Western Canadian Association of the Deaf. She was one
of only a few Canadians named to the U.S. National Fraternal Society of
the Deaf Hall of Fame. She was involved with the production and
publication of the Canadian Dictionary of American Sign Language. She
refused to take it for granted that the deaf could not attend university
and she encouraged and paved the way for many deaf students.
Source: “Lives lived” by Stephen McClure. The Globe and Mail
November 15, 2012 ; Obituary,
The Vancouver Sun. |
Freda Farrell
Waldon.
Born Winnipeg,
Manitoba August 29, 1898. Died 1973. After obtaining her BA at the
University of Toronto, Freda did post graduate studies in English at
Columbia University in the U.S.A. and studied Librarianship in England. She began
her career in the cataloguing section of Hamilton Public Library. Head
Librarian by 1940, she would help her library become one of the top
Canadian urban
public libraries. She worked towards the establishment of the National
Library of Canada and served as the first
president of the Canadian Library Association founded in 1946. She also served
as the first president of the Programme Planners Institute in Canada. She
was the recipient of the United Nations Award for Meritorious Service.
|
Gloria Cranmer
Webster
Born July
4, 1931 Alert Bay, British Columbia. On
September 10
1949 Gloria Cranmer, future film maker and linguist. became
1st
native Indian woman to attend the University of
British Columbia. She graduated with a degree in
anthropology. Her first job was as a counselor for first time offenders
in prison. She married John Webster, executive director of the
Saskatchewan John Howard Society. Eventually the couple settled with
their three children on the west coast. Gloria worked with the
Vancouver YWCA and later became program director for the Vancouver
Indian Center. In 1971 she became assistant curator for the ne British
Columbia Museum of Anthropology. From 1960 through 1991 she served as
curator of the U’mist Cultural Centre in Alert Bay. She has authored
several books and co-piloted a project to create to transcribe the
sounds of the Kwak’wala language. She worked with the Museum of
Civilization on the creation of the Great Hall and served as a member of
the Board of the Museum of Civilization. Her contributions to British
Columbia native life are remarkable. She was awarded the Heritage
Society of British Columbia’s Heritage Award in 1996.
Source: Gloria Cranmer Webster, ABC Book World abcbookworld.com
(Accessed November 2012) |
1950's |
Dormer M.
Ellis
Born
November 22, 1925. She must have been an independent child. As a teen
she was the only youth working as a “Sales girl” at her Woolworth’s 5
and 10 cent store. She could do math and calculate the correct change
for customers when there were no cash registers! She told her High
School Teacher she wanted to learn engineering but the teacher told her
to attend university orientation with all the other girls. She studied
engineering anyhow earning a PhD! In
1950 she was a professor of electrical engineering at Ryerson Institute
of Technology in Toronto, the 1st (and only women) of her
time to hold such a position.
She shocked her family when she married in 1952 by retaining her maiden
name. She interested women in the Business and Professional Women’s Club
of Toronto when she told them that she had worked all during her
pregnancy because her students wanted to learn from her. She marked
student exam papers in the maternity word after giving birth to her
daughter. In 1982 she was the President of the BPW of Toronto herself.
In 1983 she was honoured with the Woman of Distinction Award of the
Metropolitan Toronto YWCA.
In 1984 she became
the 1st woman to receive the Ontario Professional Engineers
Citizenship Award. And in 1988 she received the Elsie Gregory
McGill award from BPW of Canada.
In 1991 she
was the 1st woman to be awarded the University of Toronto
Engineering alumni gold medal. In 1992 she became Professor
Emeritus of the University of Toronto. In 2002 she was the only Canadian
among pioneers honoured by the International Congress of Women Engineers
and Scientists.
Source The
Toronto Business and Processional Women’s Club. Online Accessed February
2013. |
Edythe M. Brown
In 1936
she earned her BSc degree in Home Economics,
University of Manitoba,
Winnipeg. She then worked for the Extension Service of the
Manitoba Department of Agriculture and was active working with community
youth in local 4H groups. She also taught school on permit at Lac du
Bonnet, Manitoba and Kenora, Northern Ontario. She served as
Mayor of Lac du Bonnet
from 1953
to 1957 and
was said to be Manitoba’s first female Mayor. After the completion of her term, and the death of her
husband Frank in 1959, she attended the University of Manitoba, served
as Don of the Women’s Residence, and received a teaching certificate.
She then returned to Lac du Bonnet as a High school teacher.
Sources:
Memorable Manitobans. Profile by Gordon Goldsborough. Online (Accessed
December 2011) |
Purvathi
"Pari" Basrur
Born
September 15, 1921, Kerala, India. Died November 10, 2012, Guelph
Ontario. After earning her masters degree in sciences she immigrated to
Canada to study for her Doctorate at the University of Toronto in
1955. She
began work at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph as
the first woman on the faculty. She married Dr. Vasanth Basrur and the couple had one daughter.
She would author over 200 scientific articles for journals and books but
is perhaps best known for her dedication to her students, many of whom
endearing called her “Mamma Basrur” She received many honours during her
life time: YMCA/YWCA Woman of Distinction; the Norden Award for
distinguished teaching; the Order of Canada and in 2012 the Queen’s
Jubilee Medal.
Source:
Obituary, Globe and Mail , November 17, 2012 ; Guelph loses
leading veterinary scientist ‘Mama’ Basrur. The Guelph Mercury
November 13, 2012. |
Mabel Frances
Timlin. .
Born Forest Junction, Wisconsin U.S.A. December 6, 1891. Died 1976. "Timmie"
moved to Saskatchewan from the United States in 1917. She worked as a
secretary while studying at the University of Saskatchewan. In 1940 she
earned a PhD at the University of Washington and returned to the
University of Saskatchewan to teach economics. She would go on to write
some of the basic Canadian economic works of the 1950's and 1960's.
She would become the first woman to be
elected to the executive committee of the American Economics Association
from 1957-1960. Among her many awards were the Canada
Centennial Medal 1976 and the Order of Canada. |
1960's |
Jeanne Fisher
Manery.
Born Chelsey, Ontario July 6, 1908. Died September 6, 1986. She became the
first woman appointed professor in the
Department of Biochemistry at the
University of Toronto in 1964.
She was president of the Royal Canadian Institute in 1980. She has
received honours for her scientific achievements and has promoted the role
of women within her field. |
Alice M.
Gerard.
Born November 11, 1907. A public health nurse she would develop into a
leading nursing educator. Dean of the Faculty of Nursing at the Université
de Montréal, she was the 1st Canadian
woman dean at a French language university.
She served as
president of the Canadian Nurses Association and was the
1st Canadian
to be president of the International Council of Nurses. |
Phyllis 'Pat'
Grosskurth.
Born March 16, 1924, Toronto, Ontario. Died August 2, 2015, Toronto,
Ontario. Known to family and friends as ‘Pat’ she earned her MA at the
University of Ottawa. When her 1st husband, naval officer
Robert Grosskurth , took her to England with his job she earned her PhD
in 1962 from Birkbeck College, University of London. In 1965, back in Toronto, she was the 1st female
professor hired in the English Department of the University of Toronto.
Pat would may 2 more times to actor and producer Mavor Moore from
1968-1978 and to Bob McMullan. She would have 3 children. Pat was
renowned in her chosen genre of writing biographies. She published life
stories of such giants as John Addington Symonds, which contained a
frank treatment of his homosexuality, in 1964. The book won the Governor
General’s Award. She wrote of Havelock Ellis in 1980, and her second
Governor General’s Award winning book was the biography of Melanie,
Klein in 1986. Lord Byron’s biography was published in 1997. In 1999
she published her own memoirs. She enjoyed travelling and she was
invited to deliver lectures in Brazil, Argentina, Italy, France and
Germany. She retired as a professor in 2000 only to lead a group of some
100 retired professors and librarians in a fight against the University
to give retired female professors better pensions, akin to those of
their male counterparts. In 2002 the group reached a settlement which
was expected to bring the protestors enhanced benefits. That same year
she was inducted into the Order of Canada. She also holds the Order of
Ontario. Throughout her life she had battled depression as well as both
breast cancer and leukemia in her lifetime, and suffered a debilitating
stroke in late 2002 which limited her to a wheelchair.
Sources:
Lisa Fitterman, ’Phyllis Grosskurth: Brilliant biographer relished a
challenge’ , The Globe and Mail, August 28, 2015; Diana Hall,
‘Biographer Phyllis Grosskurth a fiery literary force ‘, The Toronto
Star, August 9, 2015. |
1970's |
Pauline Jewett.
Born St Catherines, Ontario December 11, 1922. Died July 5, 1992.
She would use her own educational background from Queens University,
Kingston, Ontario, Radcliff University in the USA, Harvard University in
the USA,
Oxford University in England and London [England] School of Economics as a background for being a
politician, educator and professor of political science. She was an
elected member of parliament in the 1960's and again in the 1980's. She
was appointed president of Simon Fraser University
in 1974, the first woman
to be head of a major co-educational university in
Canada.
She was
appointed Chancellor of Carleton University in Ottawa in 1990, a position
she held until her death. In 1992 Carleton University renamed its women's
studies program to become the Pauline Jewett Institute of Women's Studies.
She was also an Officer in the Order of Canada. |
1980's |
Mary Eileen Travis
Née Connolly . Born March 16, 1931 New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Died
Rothsay, New Brunswick December 21, 2005. She earned her B.A. at St.
Frances Xavier University, Nova Scotia and Her Masters in Library
Science at McGill University, Montreal. She worked from 1960-69 as Head,
Children’s Department, Saint John Regional Library and from 1969-1997 as
Head, Saint John Regional Library. She was also a role model for single
mothers, raising her two children alone after her husband, Art, was
killed in a plane crash in 1970. She was an active member in the
Atlantic Provinces Library Association, serving as president from
1967-1969, the Canadian Library Association and a member of the National
Library of Canada Advisory Board. In 1972 she was honoured with the
Saint John Woman of the Year. In 1977 she was a recipient of the Queen’s
Silver Jubilee Medal. In 1982 she earned the Merit Award, from the
Atlantic Provinces Library Association.
In 1983 she became the first woman to head the Saint John Board of
Trade.
In 1985 she was Vice-President of Ceremonies for the Canada Summer
Games. She was involved the founding of Hestia House Women’s Shelter and
President of Opera New Brunswick and was on the Board of Govenors of St.
Francis Xavier University. She was honoured by the YMCA with the Red
Triangle Award and in 2003 she was recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee
Award. After a stroke confined to a wheelchair she wanted to develop a
cross-country so she could go fishing! In 2004 she was presented with
the Chairman’s Award from the Saint Jon Board of Trade and was invested
as a Member of the Order of Canada.
Source: Mary Eileen Travis
Biography
Collection Ex Libris Association Online (Accessed November 2011) :
Personal Knowledge; Literary champion Eileen Travis dies by Grant Kerr
Saint John Telegraph Journal December 23, 2005
|
Ursula Martius
Franklin. Born
September 16, 1921 Munich, Germany. During the Nazi regime in
Germany in World War ll Ursula was separated from her parents
and sent to a forced labour camp and fortunately were reunited
in Berlin after the war. In 1948 she earned her Ph.D. in
experimental physics from the Technical University of Berlin.
Offered a post doctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto
she moved to Canada becoming a senior scientist at the Ontario
Research Station from 1952-1967. An expert in metallurgy and
materials science she was the 1st
woman to become a professor at the Faculty of Engineering,
University of Toronto. She authored some 100 research
papers and reports and is an acclaimed contributor to books on
the structure and properties of metals and alloys. She
contributor to the 1977 report : Canada as a Conserver
Society which recommended steps to reduce wasteful
consumption and environmental problems it causes. She was active
in the Voice for Women (VOW) and called for the U.S. military
withdrawal from Vietnam. She fought for the right to refuse
military service on the grounds of conscience to be extended to
the right to refuse to pay taxes for war preparations. The case
was refused by The Supreme Court of Canada. In 1982 she was
named as an officer of the Order of Canada and this was upgrade
to Companion of the Order of Canada in 1992. In 1987 she was
presented the Elsie Gregory McGill Memorial Award for her
contributions to education, science and technology. In 1989 she
was the author of the Real World of Technology
based on her 1989 Massey lectures for CBC Radio. In 1990 she was
inducted into the Order of Ontario. After her retirement she was
part of a group of women she fought for pay equality from the
University of Toronto. The university made a pay equity
settlement to some 60 retired women faculty. In 1991 she
received the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the
Person’s Case for advancing the equality of girls and women in
Canada. In 1995 the Ursula Franklin Academy, a high school in
Toronto was founded. In 2006 the Ursula Franklin Reader
included her articles and speeches on pacifism, feminism,
technology and teaching. In 2012 Ursula was inducted into the
Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame. In April 2013,
Franklin donated her extensive collection of writings devoted to
Chinese culture and history to the Confucius Institute at
Seneca College
in Toronto.
Sources: Ursula Franklin, Quakers in the world, Online
(Accessed September 2009) ; Dr. Ursula M. Franklin,
United Nations Association in Canada. Online (Accessed 2009) |
Marianne Florence Scott. Born
Toronto December 4 1928. She studied at McGill University where she earned
her Bachelor in Library Sciences. During her career she would receive
several LLD honours. She started her career as a law librarian and was the
cofounder of the Index to Canadian Legal Periodical Literature which began
in 1963. She was awarded the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977. She was
the 1st woman to be appointed as National Librarian of Canada, a position she held from 1984-1999. In 1995 was received the Order of
Canada. She was active on boards and executives of various professional
library associations at both the national and international levels. |
1990's |
Gretta Chambers.
née
Taylor. Born January 15, 1927, Montreal, Quebec. Died September 9, 2017,
Montreal, Quebec. Gretta learned at an early age from her family about
family commitment and community service. While still in her mid- teens
she studied Political Science at McGill University, Montreal graduating
in 1947. In January 1951 she married Edgar Chambers and the couple had
five children. She became a political wife in 1958 when her husband was
elected to the Quebec provincial legislature. She worked at this time as
a translator and researcher and later worked as a front-line journalist,
public-affairs analyst and a broadcast commentator. From 1964 thought
1978 she had a weekly radio programme called the Province in Print. From
1977-1980 she hosted a weekly CTV program called The Editors. It
was in 1977 that she began her 25 years as a columnist for The
Gazette newspaper. A convince federalist she was a major
spokesperson for the English community at a time when separation was a
hot topic. She served on numerous boards and committees including in
1978 to 1988 sitting on the McGill Board of Governors.
In 1991 she was invested as the 1st
woman chancellor of McGill University. She was an Officer of
the Ordre National du Quebec in 1993 and in 2000 she became a Companion
of the Order of Canada. |
Shelagh Dawn Grant.
Born June 28,1938 Montreal,
Quebec. She completed her studies in nursing sciences at the University
of Western Ontario, London she took time out to raise her three
children. She returned to school attending Trent University,
Peterborough, Ontario earning a B.A. in history in 1983 before heading
to London, England and Washington DC for archival research. Her master
thesis became her 1st published book, Sovereignty or Security?
Government Policy in the Canadian North, 1939-1950 published by the
University of British Columbia Press in 1988. A
study group with the former Canadian Institute for International Affairs
took her to remote Arctic locations such as the Svalbard Islands and in
Greenland: Station Nord, Meistervig and the United States Thule Air
Base. She is a
professor of History and Canadian Studies at Trent University in
Peterborough, Ontario.
She was the 1st historian
and 1st woman to receive the Northern Science Award in 1996.
She has been
active on various Inuit policy advisory committees,
editorial boards and northern scholarship committees. She also presented
papers at a number of international conferences: in Australia, Central
Siberia, England, Scotland and Iceland.
She has been editor of various reviews and co-editor for Federalism
in Canada and Australia published in 1989. Her work Polar
Imperative: A history of Arctic Sovereignty in North America in 2010 was
the winner of the 2011 Lionel Gelber Prize for the best English language
book on global affairs. and the J.W. Dafoe Book Prize. |
2000's |
Heather Anne Elyse Lilian Munroe-Blum
Born
August 25, 1950 Montreal, Quebec. She earned her Bachelor degree and her
Bachelor of Social Work from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. She
continued her studies for a Master of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier
University, Waterloo, Ontario and her doctorate from the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.A. In 1970 she
married Len Blum and the couple have one child. She taught at York
University, Toronto, (UofT) McMaster University, Hamilton and at the
University of Toronto. From 1994-2002 she served as Vice-President of
Research and International Relations at UofT.
In 2003 she became the 1st woman to serve as McGill
University President and Vice Chancellor where she served until 2013. .
She has authored works in over 60
scholarly publications and published four books.
She has served on the board of directors of the Medical Research Council
of Canada (now the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research)
as well as on international reviews of the
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD),
the
Swiss National Science Foundation,
and the
National Institute of Mental Health
(USA). In 2003 she was inducted into the Order of Canada and in 2009 she
was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec. |
Patricia Demers. Born 1946 Hamilton, Ontario.
Patricia earned her Bachelor of Arts and her Master's degree from
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. She attended the University of
Ottawa to study and earn her PhD. She began her working career as a
sessional instructor at the University of Alberta and went on to
be an assistant professor and full professor in English and film
studies. Among her specialties are children's literature and
contemporary women's writing. In 1983 she published A Garland from
the Golden Agee: An Anthology of Children's Literature from 1850 to 1900
which has seen several editions. From 1991 to 1993, she was Associate
Dean of Graduate Studies and in 1992 she published Women as
Interpreters of the Bible. From 1995 to 1998 she was
Department Chair. From 1998 to 2002, she was Vice-President of the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She was made
a Fellow of Royal Society of Canada in 2000
and served as its 1st woman to be President from 2005 to 2007.
In 2005 she published her forth book Women's Writing in English:
Early Modern England. Patricia has also contributed numerous articles to
scholarly journals. She has been awarded the Rutherford Award for
Excellence in Undergraduate Studies, the Arts Faculty Teaching Award and
the McCalla Research Professorship and in 2005 the University Cup from
the University of Alberta. In 2012 she was presented with the Queen
Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal. On June 30, 2016 she became a Member
of the Order of Canada. |
2010's |
Wanda Thomas Elaine Bernard.
Born August 1, 1953. She is the 1st Black Canadian to have an
academic tenure position and become a full professor at Dalhousie
University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. She would serve as director of the
Dalhousie School of Social Work for ten years. She was one of the
founding members of the Association of Black Social Workers. In 2004 she
received the Order of Canada in appreciation of her work addressing
racism and diversity in the field of social work. In 2014 she was
inducted into the Order of Nova Scotia. She has served as Chair of the
Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women. She has served as a
member of the National Coalition of Advisory Councils on the Status of
Women. On October 27, 2016 she
was named to the Senate of Canada, sitting as an independent.
She became the 1st Black Nova
Scotia woman to serve in the Canadian Senate.
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