Emily Murphy
Source: Wikipedia: Emily Murphy
Law • Historical Archive • 🇨🇦 Canada • 0 views

Emily Murphy 🇨🇦

Emily Gowan Murphy (Known as "Janey Canuck")
First Female Magistrate in the British Empire, Leader of the Famous Five
Born Mar 14, 1868 🇨🇦 Cookstown (Ontario), Canada
Passed Away Oct 27, 1933 Edmonton (Alberta), Canada
Lifespan 65 years old
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Notice / Correction
"I believe that to consider women as persons is to take the first step toward universal justice."

Archival Overview

Pioneering jurist and author who became the first female police magistrate in the British Empire in 1916 and led the 'Famous Five' in the historic 1929 Persons Case ruling.

Biographical Record

Writing popular books under the pen name 'Janey Canuck', Murphy successfully campaigned for Alberta's Dower Act of 1911, protecting married women's property rights. In 1916, she was appointed magistrate of the Edmonton women's court, where defense lawyers immediately challenged her rulings because women were not legal 'persons'.

Refusing to back down, Murphy drafted a petition asking the Supreme Court whether the word 'Persons' in the 1867 constitution included females. With four colleagues, she appealed to the Privy Council in London, winning the landmark 1929 ruling that declared women are legal persons throughout the British Empire.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Edmonton Cemetery
Edmonton (Alberta), Canada
GPS: 53.5350, -113.5417
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