Carrie Derick

Carrie Matilda Derick was an educational trailblazer and scientist who graduated at the top of her class from McGill University in 1890. She pursued advanced studies in genetics and botany at Harvard University and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, conducting fundamental research on plant cytology and inheritance.

In 1912, McGill appointed Derick as Professor of Morphological Botany, making her the first woman to hold a full professorship at any Canadian university. A lifelong suffragist, she served as president of the Montreal Suffrage Association and fought tirelessly for equal legal and property rights for women in Quebec.