On the Job - Academics and Librarians



Academics TOP OF PAGE
Katherine Acheson	A specialist in Renaissance and seventeenth century English literature she has published a work on the diary of Lady Anne Clifford, a seventeenth century noblewoman. At Stanford University she studied the evolution of the concept of authorial intention in seventeenth-century English dramas, emphasizing its relation to discourses of gender, sexuality and the body. She is a winner of the Alice Wilson Award presented by the Royal Society of Canada.
Elizabeth Allin.	Born July 8, 1905. Died 1993. Elizabeth graduated from university with a degree in physics. She would go on to become the first woman to be appointed to the Physics Department at the University of Toronto. She was also a founding member of the Canadian Association of Professional Physicists. A loyal University of Toronto employee, she wrote the history of the university Physics Department. You can read about her place and struggle for recognition of her ability to work in a dominant male occupation in the book Great Dames.
Emma Baker	the first woman to have received a Ph.D. from a Canadian university (1903)
Marjorie Griffin Cohen	Born Franklin, New Jersey, U.S.A. February 17, 1944. She studied for her BA at Iowa Wesleyan College and took her MA at New York University before moving to York University in Toronto to earn her PhD in 1985. She was a professor for the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education form 1986-1991 and during this time she was the producer and host of the TV Ontario program COUNTERPOINTS. An Economist and Professor in the Department of Political Science and Chair of the Women's Studies Department at Simon Fraser University. She writes on various issues dealing with the Canadian economy, public policy, women, labour, international trade agreements and deregulation of the electricity sector. She is also President of Citizens for Public Power and a Research Associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Thérése Gouin Decarie.	Born September 30, 1923. Dr. Decarie is a Professor at the Départment de Psychologie at the Université de Montréal. This mother of four children has maintained a full career in child psychology that includes being the author of several renown texts in her field of research. Her writings have been published in French, English and Italian and have been awarded recognition such as the Médaille Inis-Gérin de la Societé Royale du Canada. She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1977.
Carrie Matilda Derick	Born Clarenceville, Quebec January 14,1862. Died November 10, 1941. She studied for her B.A. at McGill in 1890, took her M.A. in 1896 and would go on to study at the Academy of Science, London England, Harvard University, USA, and Bonn University, Germany. Carrie became the first woman professor at an university in Canada. She was also and activist in women's rights.
Octavia Grace England	née Ritchie. Born Montreal, Quebec January 16,1868. Died February 1, 1948. She would be the first woman to be valedictorian at McGill University even though she was originally refused entry because she was a woman. She was the first woman to graduate from a medical school in Quebec.
Thelma Finlayson.	Born June 29, 1914. She has been Professor Emeritus for the Department of Biological Science at Simon Fraser University since 1979. The Thelma Finlayson Society at the University is named for her. She received an honourary L.L.D. from her university as well. She has written approximately 40 research papers, and several books in entomology.. She has severed as director of the International Organization of Biologists.
Ursula Martius Franklin.	Born Munich, Germany September 16, 1921. She is a specialist and pioneer in the structure of metals and alloys. In 1984 she became the first woman to be named a University Professor at the University of Toronto. A tireless advocate for Science for Peace she was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1992.
Madeline Alberta Fritz.	Born St John, New Brunswick November 3, 1896. Died August 20, 1990. 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 second woman in Canada to be elected to the Royal Society of Canada. Her scientific studies of the Toronto Area stand as definite works.
Marketa Gotz-Stankiewicz.	Born February 15, 1927. Born in the Czech Republic, she attended high school and university in Toronto and then at Columbia University in New York City. She would edit, write, and teach her love of Germanic studies. Among her many awards is a Certificate of Merit for Excellence in Teaching 1972 and the Hlavake Medal of the Czech Academy of Science 1992.
Francess Georgina Halpenny	Born Ottawa, Ontario May 27, 1919. She is known as an energetic and courageous editor working as head of the editorial department at the University of Toronto Press. (1957-1969) She was general editor to the mammoth project of the “Dictionary of Canadian Biography” and at the same time Dean of the Faculty of Library Science, University of Toronto. Her hobbies were acting and writing. She was awarded the Molson Prize in 1983 and became a companion of the Order of Canada in 1984.
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.
Grace Annie Lockhart.	Born Saint John, New Brunswick February 22, 1855. Died May 18, 1916. She graduated with her Bachelor of Science and English Literature from Mount Allison College, Sackville, New Brunswick on May 25, 1875 becoming the first woman in the British Empire to receive a bachelor’s degree.
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.
Hilda Marion Neatby.	Born Sutton, England February 19, 1904. Died May 14, 1975. An historian, author, educator, and critic of the Canadian education system she was a member of the Royal Commission on the National Development in the Arts and Letters and Sciences, known as the Massey Commission. In 1967 she became a Companion of the Order of Canada
Margaret Anchoretta Ormsby.	Born Quesnel, British Columbia June 7, 1909. She did her university studies in both Canada and the United States. She returned to teach history at the University of British Columbia where she was appointed head of the history department from 1965 to 1974. She produced several works which enlighten readers on the history of British Columbia. She was a major contributor to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. She would also serve as President of the Canadian Historical Association. She is a member of the Royal Society of Canada, a member of the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada.
Yolande Racine.	Born February 29, 1948. She studied art all the way through university and worked her way through the profession as an art history researcher, archivist, curator, and teacher, to become Curator and Head of the Multimedia Programming, at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montreal. She has contributed various writings and won the Award of Excellence 1988.
Rose Sheinin.	(née Shuber). Born May 18, 1930. A professor at the department of biology at Concordia University and Continuing Senior Fellow, Massey College, this scholar has had scholarships, fellowships, and been visiting lecturer to numerous international institutions. She chaired many groups including Women in Scholarship Committee (1989-1994). She was on the National Advisory Board for the Canadian Encyclopedia and was winner of the Woman of Distinction Award in 1988.
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.
Educators TOP OF PAGE
Mary Electa Adams.	Born November 10, 1823. She was an educator, administrator and a poet. She occupied several positions in various schools. As preceptress at Wesleyan Academy in Mount Allison, Sackville, New Brunswick she held the highest office in a school open to a woman. She would also serve as Ladies Principal of the Ontario Ladies College in Whitby Ontario. She was an effective and determined advocate of academic education for women.
Ann Elizabeth Connor Brimer	Born Halifax Nova Scotia 1940. Died July 22, 1988. She was educated at McGill University, Montreal, the University of London and the Atlantic Institute of Education. Later in life she would return to graduate studies at Dalhousie University. She began her career as a teacher in her home province of Nova Scotia. She earned a position as executive Director of the Canadian Learning Materials Centre and was program co-ordinator of Continuing Education at Dalhousie University. She would found the first children’s bookstore in the city of Halifax and became the Atlantic Representative for the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. She was also a founding member of the Nova Scotia Coalition on Arts and Culture. In 1990 the Nova Scotia Library Association established the Ann Connor Brimer Award to be given to a resident of Atlantic Canada for a book published in Canada that has made an outstanding contribution to Children’s literature.
Ruth Lorraine Collins-Nakai	Born Pincher Creek, Alberta March 21, 1949. After earning her medical degree at the University of Alberta she specialized in pediatric medicine ( childhood medicine) She teaches at the University of Alberta where she was named teacher of the Year in her own department in 1988. She has participated in the betterment of her home province by serving on the Premier's Council on Science and Technology, the Subcommittee of Science and Technology in Alberta and the Premier's Commission on Future Health Care in the Province of Alberta. A well respected medical author she has written some 100 abstracts and papers in her chosen field of medicine. She has also been an active member of various boards of directors for national and international medical associations. Combining a profession and a family she is the mother of three children.
Ada May Courtice	Born Pickering, , Canada West (Ontario) 1860. Died 1923. She married shortly after graduating from the Whitby Ladies College. As a young widow requiring a way to earn a living, she opened a private school in Toronto. She became active in the education scene in Toronto and became a member of the Toronto Board of Education. In 1914 she founded the Home and School Movement in Toronto. The Movement gained popularity and spread across the entire country.
Sara Louise Diamond	Born New York, New York U.S.A. March 9, 1954. She did her post secondary school studies at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. An artist and teacher she pioneered the development of a feminist theory curriculum at Emily Carr College of Art and Design and was Director, Women's Labour History Project 1979-1992 when she moved to Banff, Alberta and the Banff Centre for the Arts. Her video work has won the Bell Canada Award for Excellence in Video in 1995. She has also written articles for several publications. She enjoys surfing the web, Nordic skiing, cooking for friends and loves to read and watch films.
Onésime Dorval	Born Sainte-Scholastique, Lower Canada (Quebec) 1845. Died 1932. As a young girl her delicate health kept her from entering a religious life. She would, later in life, take a vow of poverty and chastity but she did not enter any specific religious group. In 1877 she arrived in Manitoba's Red River settlement to begin a career of teaching . She was the first trained teacher in such areas as Saint-Laurent, Battleford and Batoche. In 1883 she established the school Saint Vital which was entrusted to Les Soeurs de L'Assomption in 1896. She retired in 1914 to Duck Lake where she continued to help aboriginal and Métis youth. She has been designated as a National Historic Person of Canada.
Mary Susanne Edgar	Born Sundridge, Ontario May 23, 1889. Died September 17, 1973. She studied at Havergal College in Toronto and at the University of Chicago before graduating from the National Training School of the Young Women's Christian Association, New York City in 1915. 1920 found her in Japan as a volunteer for the Y.W.C.A. She returned to Canada and purchased land near her home in Sunderland to established a youth camp which opened in 1922. She was the director until her retirement in 1956. She devoted her life to working with young girls and camping and worked not only with the Y.W.C.A. but also with Girl Guides of Canada, Canadian Girls in Training, and the Canadian Camping Association. She wrote several books including Wood-fire and candlelight (Toronto,1945) ; Under open skies (Toronto,1956); The Christmas wreath of verse (Toronto,1967) and Once there was a camper (Toronto,1970) . She also wrote a number of one act plays and hymns.
Renée Elaine Elio.	Born June 19, 1955. A graduate of Yale University, she earned her Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University in 1981. She is an Associate professor of Computing Science at the University of Alberta. She is the author and co-author of numerous articles in the fields of cognitive psychology, cognitive science and artificial intelligence.
Marion Golda Fry	Born Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1932. She received her her undergraduate university degree, along with a medal in classics at the University of King's College. After earning her Masters in 1955 she headed to Oxford University in England for additional studies. She taught at Bishops University and was assistant Dean of Women. She would be the first woman to be President of King's College at Dalhousie University in Halifax. She moved to Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario where she earned the Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1987. She is also a strong supporter of her community. She has held board positions of Arbor Theatre, the Peterborough United Way. She has been a member of the boards that serve University Scholarships Canada and the National Library of Canada.
Shelagh Dawn Grant.	Born June 28, 1938. She completed her studies at the University of Western Ontario, and Trent University. A mother of three children she is a professor of History and Canadian Studies at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. She has written numerous articles for various scholastic journals and reviews and a couple of books on the modern history of government policy. She has been editor of various reviews and co-editor for Federalism in Canada and Australia published in 1989.
Joan Green	Born Windsor, Ontario June 26, 1947. She did all of her post secondary school studies at the University of Toronto, obtaining a Masters in Education in 1977. She established a career as a teacher, consultant, lecturer, co-ordinator and leader in education . During her career she took time to have two children, and return effort to her community with charity work such as United Way of Greater Toronto. She has received several awards and honours including Woman of the Year for Women in Leadership 1990, Distinguished Educator OISI, 1994, and the Helen Horn Leadership Award 1995, As an author she has published several development works for youth.
Helen Battles Hogg-Priestley.	(née Sawyer) Born Lowell, Massachusetts U.S.A. August 1, 1905. Died January 28, 1993. An astronomer who joined the teaching staff of the University of Toronto in 1936, she was nominated professor emeritus in 1976. A world expert who receive numerous honours including being a Companion in the Order of Canada, she took her profession to radio and TV in a clear and understandable manner for all listeners. She wrote a book, “The Stars Belong to Everyone” . For her efforts to bring information to the public she was the 1^st person to with the Klumpke-Roberts Award and she is also the only Canadian woman to have a minor planet (#2917) named after her!
Frances Esther (Hester) How	Born Ireland January 29, 1848. Died September 22, 1915. She emigrated from Ireland with her family in 1849. In 1866 she graduated from the Toronto Normal School and began teaching in Toronto. In 1881 she was chosen to work at a school for delinquent boys. The school and its students blossomed under her strict but kind leadership and by 1892 classes for girls and 1/2 day classes for newsboys were opened. She started a crèche for baby care, a free lunch Programme, summer camps and arranged health and dental services. She became known as Aunt Hessie. She worked with the Temperance League and anti-tobacco League. In 1912 a new school was called the Hester How School. Upon her retirement she was described as the Jane Addams of Toronto, referring to a famous Chicago reformer in the United States.
June Caroline Kander	née Worsley. Born New Zealand 1927(?)- December 26, 2004. An accomplished professional with thirty years experience in the areas of linguistics, education and curriculum development she made education her lifetime avocation. She earned several post graduate degrees including PhD courses in 1994. Long after most professionals retired to a more inactive lifestyle she continued to use and share her knowledge and life energies with those in need. Her endeavors would take her to Laos, Kuwait, Yemen, Egypt, and Hong Kong. As a volunteer for two years for the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) she developed Literature Resource materials and Writing Resources for the National University in Laos in addition to the regular English Language teaching duties. She assisted in the reestablishment of programs at Kuwait University after the Gulf War and worked in her home Canada in the design and delivery of the Curriculum for McGill University Intensive Language Program. She was also a counselor to Canadian Immigrants for the Government of Quebec. Ms Kinder died in the tsunami in Asia in 2004.
Mary Ellen Knox	Born England October 4,1858. Died January 24,1924. A well established teacher in the United Kingdom she came to Canada in 1894 to be the first principal of the newly established Havergal Ladies College, a private school in Toronto. This administrator , who laid the foundation for one of the most prestigious ladies colleges in Canada, remained at her position until her death in 1924. She wrote test books and educational works entitled Bible Lessons for Schools. (three volumes) (London 1907-1908) and The Girl of the New Day (Toronto, 1919).
Elizabeth Legge.	Born March 25, 1952. After university studies in Toronto and England she became a curator of Fine Arts and worked at in Winnipeg before returning to the University of Toronto to teach post 1945 art and be curator at the U of T Art College. She is also and author and editor in her field. Her personal recreation is to create soft sculpture caricatures.
Anna Harriette Leonowens.	(née Crawford) Born Caernarvon, Wales November 5, 1834. Died January 19, 1915. As a young widow she established a school in Singapore, then in Siam she was teacher at court. She wrote 2 novels based on her experience and the 2^nd novel would become the basis for the book “Anna and the King of Siam” which in turn became the base for the 1951 play “The King and I”. She moved to Halifax in 1976 and was the founding secretary of the Halifax Council of Women. She eventually retired to Montreal.
Nellie Margaret Lewis	Born Orangeville, Ontario 1892. Died May 18, 1956. She was on the staff of the Ontario Council of Christian Education for 40 years. She became an expert in recreation and wrote several books on games and playing including Games and Parties the Year Round (Toronto, 1938) and Boys and Girls at Play (Toronto, 1946).
Terry Litovitz	Born Poland 1949. Died March 2005. After her father had fallen out of favour with Moscow communists the family moved to Israel and in 1960 settled in Canada. It is said that she took coursed in accounting because it meant less time in school than to study law. Yet after later in life she would go on to take her Masters in Business Administration. After working as a chartered accountant she discovered that she enjoyed teaching and she settled and spent 25 years at Scarborough campus of the University of Toronto. Most often students found her very strict and demanding. However, the stronger students could see beyond the intimidation to become aware of a professor who cared enough to provide students with a strong foundation required by their chosen profession. Her students, like her family, were always her main concerns. Before her death she created the Terry Litovitz Merit Award in management for students.
Meg Luxton.	Born February 28, 1946. She is a professor in women's studies who co-founded the excellent Women's Studies Program at the University of Toronto. She has served on various committees including the National Action Committee on the Status of Women. Her writings on the history of women include: More than a Labour of Love : Three Generations of Women's Work in the Home . Check out her books at your local library.
Aletta Elise Marty	Born Mitchell, Ontario 1865. Died May 10, 1929. She earned her B.A. at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario and her M.A in 1895 with an LLD in 1921. She was a school teacher who was interested in the administration of her profession in became the first woman appointed inspector of Public Schools in Toronto. She wrote for her profession The Principles and Practice of Oral Reading (Toronto, 1904) and An Education Creed (Toronto, 1921.
Mabel Phoebe Peters	Born Saint John, New Brunswick June 12, 1861. Died August 30, 1914. In 1847 she and her sister became the proprietors of the family hotel. By 1900 she was a known lecturer and gave a paper at the 1901 National Council of Women on vacation schools and playgrounds and the benefits of these on the lives of young students. From 1902 to 1914 she was the convener of the Committee to Promote Playgrounds and Vacation Schools. She was also and active member of the Playground Association of America. She was also known for her strong suffragist attitude.
Alice Ravenhill	Born Epping Forrest, Essex , England March 31, 1859. Died May 27, 1954. Before emigrating to Canada she had built up a sold reputation as a lecturer and author on public health. She was co-author of Household Administration ( New York, 19110. She arrived in Canada in 1911 on the west coast as a welfare worker with aboriginals. She became extremely interested in the lives of the people she worked with, their spirits, their crafts and their very way of life. She would produce several books on west coast Indian lore including Native Tribes of Pacific Canada (Victoria, 1938) and A corner Stone of Canadian Culture: an Outline of the Arts and Crafts of the Indian Tribes of British Columbia (Victoria, 1953. She would receive an honorary degree from the University of British Columbia in 1948 as recognition of her efforts on behalf of the native peoples.
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.
Anne Douglas Savage.	Born Montreal, Quebec July 27, 1896. Died March 25, 1971. She was a pioneer in teaching children’s art. Her own works matured showing a lyrical quality and late in life she was attracted to the abstract form of painting. She was a teacher to several rising young Canadian artists.
Ruth Schiller.	(née Boswell) Born October 29, 1931. This mother of three children has been a leader and music specialist for over 30 years. A conductor, adjudicator and lecturer she has represented Canada numerous times at the International Society of Music Education. She has been awarded the André Thadée Bourque and Louise Manny Award for Excellence in Music, the Centennial Award, the Leslie Bell Choral Award, the Paul Harris Fellow Award and recognized by the New Brunswick Teachers Association for outstanding contribution to education in the province. She was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1992.
Elizabeth Hillman Waterston	Born Montreal, Quebec April 18, 1922. She received both her BA and her PhD at the University of Toronto. She has been a teacher at Sir George Williams University, Montreal, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, and the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario where she held most recently the status of Professor Emeritus. She was a founding member of the Association of Canadian University Teachers of English and of the Association for Canadian and Quebec Literatures. In the late 1970's she was the president of the Humanities Association of Canada and is the founding editor of Canadian Children's Literature. She is also well known for her editorial expertise from working on the Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery (1985, 1987 and 1992) as well as co-author of Writing a life: L. M. Montgomery (1994). She also shred authoring of Silenced sextet: six 19th Century women novelists (1993)
Alice Evelyn Wilson.	Born Coburg, Ontario August 26, 1881. Died April 15, 1964. A paleontologist who worked at the Geological Survey of Canada, where she described fossils in papers and books. She lectured and traveled to bring geology to the public, especially children. In 1937 she was the 1^st woman to be elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
*Historians* TOP OF PAGE
Janet Carnochan	Born Stamford, Ontario November 14, 1839. Died March 31, 1926. A teacher and historian She worked tirelessly for the Niagara Historical Society in Ontario. She would author several local church histories in the 1890's before publishing the "History of Niagara" published in Toronto in 1914.
Catherine Matilda Day	née Townsend. Born East Farnham, Lower Canada (Quebec) January 1, 1815. Died August 24, 1899. A well known area historian she would wite the "Pioneers of the Eastern Townships (Montreal, 1863) and "History of the Eastern Townships (Montreal, 1869).
Matilda Edgar	née Ridout Born Toronto, Ontario September 29, 1844. Died September 29, 1910. She became Lady Edgar upon her marriage to Sir James David Edgar but she was on her own a well established historian who would pen such works as Ten years of Upper Canada, in peace and war (Toronto, 1904) and A colonial Governor in Maryland which was published after her death.
Charlotte Judith Gray	Born Sheffield, United Kingdom 1948. She studied at Oxford University in England and received her BA in 1969. She followed this with a diploma of Social Administration from the London School of Economics in 1970. In 1978 she was presented with the Pakenham Award for the most promising young woman journalist. In 1979 she moved to Canada. Before becoming a full time book author she wrote for several Canadian Magazines including Saturday Night where she penned a monthly column on the Canadian political scene. She has published several books including biographies on some of Canada leading female figures in history, Catherine Parr Trail, Susanna Moodie and Pauline Johnston. She is also well known for her Canadian history works which have been presented in award winning works in the 'popular' history writing style. She is an Adjunct Research Professor at the Department of History at Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario.
Mary Emma Quayle Innis	Born St Mary's, Ontario 1899. Died January 10, 1972. The wife of noted scholar H. A. Innis she sad a strong established career of her own as an economic historian, writer of novels and short stories and poet. She wrote a history of the YMCA, an economic history of Canada, and edited Essays in Canadian economic history . She also presided as Dean of Women at University College, part of the University of Toronto.
Edith Louise Marsh.	Died July 10, 1960. She enjoyed history and through her published works she shared her love and knowledge of the subject with the youth of Canada. She wrote: Where the buffalo roamed; the story of the Canadian west (Toronto, 1908) ; Birds of peasemarsh (Toronto, 1919); The Story of Canada (Toronto,1919rev. 1927)) ; The History of the County of Grey (Owen Sound,1931) and With the Birds (Toronto,1935).
Isabel Skelton	née Murphy Born Carleton, County, Ontario 1877. Died August 23, 1956. She obtained her Masters at Queen's University in 1901. In 1904 she married professor O. D. Skelton, one of Canada's foremost writers of history. She is largely overshadowed by the shadow of the work of her husband. She was the first historian to treat women of Canadian history as individuals in their own right instead of their being part of a generalized coverage. Her works also promoted and portrayed Canada a strong independent country separate from British colonialism. The works and lives of these historians are covered in Marriage of minds: Isabel and Oscar Skelton, reinventing Canada. by Terry Crowley (Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2003)
Librarians TOP OF PAGE
Karen Adams	Born Eriksdale, Manitoba. May 3, 1946. She studied for her B.A. at the University of Manitoba and then followed her dream to the Library School at the University of Western Ontario where she earned her Masters in Library Science in 1975. Married with with two children, Karen worked at several library positions including being a cataloguer, a public services librarian, a library consultant and an instructor at Red River Community College. In the late 1970's she moved from the position of acting director of Public Library Services in Manitoba and by the mid 1980's was Provincial Librarian for the province of Saskatchewan. In 1991 she was appointed as Executive Director of the Canadian Library Association.
Elizabeth Dafoe	Born Montreal, Quebec October 22, 1900. Died April 25, 1960. She studied for her B.A. at the University of Manitoba in 1923. She continued her studies at the Library schools at Columbia University in New York and the University of Chicago. In 1937 she became the Chief Librarian at the University of Manitoba. In 1948 she was elected President of the Canadian Library Association. In 1953 the University of Manitoba named its new central library , the Elizabeth Dafoe Library in honour of her many years of service.
Adèle de Guerry Languedoc	Born Tadoussac, Quebec 1904. Died December 1993. She completed her university studies at McGill and went on to earn Librarian's diploma in 1929. She began her career as a cataloguer at McGill University Libraries and then worked with the McLennan Travelling Libraries where from 1940-1945 she was the program director. After World War ll she studied at Columbia University in New York for her Bachelor's degree in Librarianship. She left New York city to work in France where she helped rehabilitate war ravaged regional libraries and she also established the first children's library outside of Paris. She returned to Canada and worked in the early days of establishment of the National Library of Canada where in 1964 she was appointed Assistant National Librarian. After retirement from the National Library she returned to her roots and worked part time cataloguing the historical pamphlet collection of the National Archives of Canada. She had a fantastic sense of humour that she could express in both official languages and she brought a pride of professionalism and honesty of opinion in all that she accomplished.
Bertha Mabel Dunham	Born Harriston, Ontario May 29. 1881. Died June 21, 1957. After receiving her B.A. at the University of Toronto she took studies in Library Science at McGill University. She would become the first trained librarian to head a public library in Ontario. She served the Berlin Public Library, later known as Kitchener, from 1908 through to 1944. She was also the first instructor-in-charge of the Ontario Library Summer School in 1911 and continued in this role to 1914. She was elected president of the Ontario Library Association 1920/21. She also found time to become an elected member of the Kitchener Public School Board in 1914. She was the first woman to hold an elected municipal position in the town. Active in the Waterloos Historical Society, she was the first woman member and she served as president from 1947-1950. A well known author and local historian she penned several local church histories, several local history books and a children's book entitled Kristli's Trees (Toronto 1948) In 1941 the University of Western Ontario presented her with an honorary degree of Doctor of Literature. She was also elected to the Waterloo County Hall of fame.
Sheila Agnes Egoff	Auburn, Maine, U.S.A. 1918. Died May 22, 2005. She loved to go to the public library in Galt, Ontario as a child. She read everything she could. At 15 she had a part-time job at the the library. While taking night classed to earn her university degree, she worked in the children's department at the Toronto Public Library. She continued her education at University College in London, England. When She returned to Toronto Public Libraries she came with the famous Osborne Collection or rare children's books and became the first curator of the collection. Her career would take her to work as a reference librarian as to work with the Canadian Library Association and a founding faculty member at the Library School at the University of British Columbia, but her love of children's books remained with her. In 1964 she was commissioned by the Children's Recreational Reading Council of Ontario to write the firs comprehensive study of Canadian children's boos in time for the Canada's Centennial: The Republic of Childhood (1967). In 1981 she published a children's book of her own, Thursday's Child. She has been presented with numerous awards honouring her career and the British Columbia Book Prize in Children's Literature is named in her honour. In 1994 she was awarded the Order of Canada. Her autobiography is entitled: My Life with children's books (2005).
Edith Grace Firth	Born Lindsay, Ontario January 27, 1927. Died July 23, 2005. In the 1940's she studied at the University of Toronto graduating with honours in modern history and a degree in library sciences. Upon graduation she worked as a reference librarian at the Toronto Public Library. In 1952 she was put in charge of the Treasure Room with rare books and manuscripts. At TPL for some 30 years she would build the collection of 'treasures' into a major resource including books, manuscripts, broadsides/posters and other ephemera that is considered a basic research area for all early Canadian historians and writers. She would publish scholarly catalogues and listings of the collections which are historical resources of their own. She also produced a book : The Town of York 1793-1815 ( University of Toronto Press/Champlain Society, 1962). She not only used materials at TPL but she also scoured institutions throughout North America searching for early documentation on Toronto. In 1967 volume on further documents of early Toronto was also published. She took early retirement at age 55 and used her early retirement years to research and publish Toronto Art: 150 years through artists eyes (1983) winning the City of Toronto Book Award.
Joanne Gard Marshall.	Born December 19, 1945. Dr. Marshall is a librarian and professor at the Faculty of Information Studies at the University of Toronto. She also holds cross appointments with the Department of Health Administration at the Centre for Health Promotion and Institute for Human Development, Life Course and Aging. While librarians are often seen as holding a special contributive role in a community, Dr. Marshall has earned special recognition within her profession. She is the recipient of several awards including the Eliot Prize from the Medical Library Association and the Award of Outstanding Achievement from the Canadian Health Library Association.
Mary Sollace Saxe	Born St Albans, Vermont, U.S.A. February 23, 1868. Died May 27, 1943. She originally studied journalism but then began work in a library and apprenticed under such leaders in the field as Charles Cutter. She became librarian of Westmount Public Library in 1901 and remained until her retirement in 1931. When she began her position she had a staff of a part time janitor. There was bell in a tall elm tree outside the library which could be run to attract the attention of the local police in case of trouble. She built the small library into an institution for a growing community that included a well stocked reference room and a fully separate children's room. She also enjoyed writing, often using the pen name Sollace. She was the author of several one act plays that were produced locally as well as articles, novels and a children's book entitled Our Little Quebec Cousins (Boston, 1919) . She was a welcome lecturer at several Library Schools in North America including Toronto, Montreal, Syracuse, New York and St Louis, Missouri.
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 first 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.
Lillian Helena Smith.	Born March 17. She was the first trained children's librarian in Canada. She devoted 40 years of her working life to the development of the children's collection within the Toronto Public Library. 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.
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 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. 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.
Florence Daly Thompson.	(née Lucas) Born Hitchin, England September 13, 1865. Died August 4, 1915. Florence emigrated from England with her family. She was the oldest of ten children. Well educated, she was also an accomplished artist. She married William Henry in 1892 but continued to work for pay outside the home. Before World War 1 it was quite unusual for women to work for salary after they were married. .She was a successful and published science researcher and a librarian at the University of Manitoba. In addition to her job she was a busy lecturer in the local arts community of Winnipeg, a charter member of the Women's Canadian Club and an honourary member of the University Women's Club.

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