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My goal was to have at least one name
for each day of the year! Believe it or not, it took 20 years. But hey, I
made it!
Want to know who was born the same year as you?
Check out the
Famous
Canadian Women's Historical Timeline!
Want to find out about other Canadian women of achievement?
"On-The-Job". Has over 3100 mini profiles of Canadian Women
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Use your mouse pointer to touch a
date on the calendar below
to see which Famous Canadian Woman has a birthday on
that date.
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| January 1 |
Florence
Annie Bridgewood
Lawrence. Born
January 1, 1890, Hamilton, Ontario. Died December
28, 1938, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.A. This petite Can adian born actor is universally
acknowledged as the world’s 1st movie star. At age
four she was performing as “Baby Flo, the Wonder
Whistler” on vaudeville. In the pioneer days of
filmmaking, credits with the names of actors
were not important. She became known simply as
the "Biograph Girl". In 1915 she tried to help
someone in a studio fire and was badly
burned. She never achieved her former active
career. By the time of her death she had
appeared in 250 films! Her biography, Florence
Lawrence, the Biograph Girl: America's First
Movie Star was written by Kelly R
Brown and published by McFarland, 1999.(2021) |
| Annie Linda Jack. née Hayr. Born January 1, 1839, Northampton, England. Died February 15, 1912, Chateauguay, Quebec. Annie was Canada’s 1st professional woman garden writer. Annie moved to Troy, New York, U.S.A. and attended Troy Female Seminary. She married a Scottish born fruit farmer, Robert Jack (died 1900) and the couple settled on his farm in Chateauguay, Quebec. Here the couple would raise 11 children. When she moved to Canada, she used her gardening skills to experiment and make a profit. Annie developed one acre to horticulture of her choice and wrote a column in The Rural New Yorker called A Woman's Acre. She also wrote a column on flowers in the Montreal Daily Witness and contributed to the Canadian Horticulturalist. Her skills became known throughout North America. While she wrote and published short stories and poems, it is her horticultural articles for which she is remembered. Her book The Canadian Gardener: A pocket Help of the Amateur was published in 1903 and set the gardening standard for all of pre World War 1 Canada. (2021) | |
| January 2 | Hannah Jarvis. née Peters. Born January 2, 1763, Hebron, Connecticut, U.S.A. Died September 9,1845, Toronto, Upper Canada. During the American revolution the family to Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. and left Hannah with family while he fled in exile to England and France. Joining her father they lived in poverty in London, England and then in France. At 20 years of age Hannah married William Jarvis a loyalist military officer who was appointed provincial secretary and Registrar of Upper Canada (now Ontario). The family including their three children settled in the area of Niagara-on-the-Lake in 1792. The couple would have four more children born in Canada. Hannah was not only a prolific letter writer but she also kept a diary where she wrote of items she was kept from talking about in the political era of early colonial Canada. Her family life, struggles, hardship of providing daily necessities, her anger and other emotions which society required that a lady should not voice. Hannah was left bankrupt with the death of her husband in 1817 since all the estate had been transferred to her son Samuel. She received a modest pension of $100.00 a year from the government but all other finances had to come from her son. Her journals and letters are in the Archives at the University of Guelph. |
| Barbara Lally Pentland. Born January 2, 1912, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died February 5, 2000, Vancouver, British Columbia. Barbara studied music at the Juilliard School of Music, New York City, U.S.A. and the Bershire Music Centre in Massacheutts, U.S.A. One of the 1st Canadian composers to use avant-garde techniques, she has helped introduce two generations of young Canadians to modern Music. She taught at the Toronto Conservatory of Music from 1943 through 1949 and then at the University of British Columbia until 1963. In 1977 she received a Diplôme d'honneur from the Canadian Conference of the Arts. She composed for piano, orchestra, chamber ensemble and voice. She was named to the Order of Canada in 1989. (2019) | |
| January 3 | Ginette Laurin. Born January 3, 1955, Montreal, Quebec. Ginette trained as a gymnast as well as a dancer of modern dance and ballet. began her choreographic career in 1979. She founded her own company in 1984, O Vertigo. She has also done work with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Introdans in the Netherlands, and for films. She also taught at the Université du Québec, Montréal. The company appeared at Expo 86 and won the Jean A. Chalmers Award. In 1987 she was profiled in the documentary film, Dance for Modern Times. Since 1986 the company has returned to appear in Europe, the United States of America, Denmark, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. In 2003 she earned the Cinedance Award for Best Direction at the Moving Pictures Festival, Toronto. In 2015 she was invested with the Order of Canada. (2021) |
Letitia Youmans. (née
Creighton) Born January 3, 1827, Hamilton
Township, Upper
Canada (now Ontario). Died July 18, 1896,
Toronto, Ontario. After visiting a rally of the
American Women's Temperance Crusade in 1874, she
returned to Canada full of determination. Her
efforts founded the Women's Christian Temperance
Union in Canada and she would be the first
president. She would remain, after 1889, its
honorary president for the rest of her life.
Read more about her determination in her
autobiography Campaign Echoes. |
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| January 4 | Jeanne Le Ber. Born January 4, 1662, Montreal, Quebec. Died October 3, 1714, Montreal, Quebec. Jeanne was the goddaughter of Jeanne Mance (1606-1673) As a young girl Jeanne had a dowry of 50,000 écrus and was the most eligible girl in New France. However, Jeanne decided to live the life of a recluse and at 18 she withdrew from the world leaving her home only to go to mass. She grew even more withdrawn and retired to a cell at the rear of the church of the Hôtel -Dieu. She wore haircloth undergarments and corn husk shoes and cut off all attachments to her family.. She gave large financial assistance to the building of a new church for the sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame and a three floor apartment directly behind the alter became her living quarters. On June 24 1685 she took a vow of perpetual seclusion, chastity, and poverty. Because of her social rank she retained an attendant who lived in seclusion with her. She also received visitors from time to time. She has been studied and her life used as a character in a modern mystery novel Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs in 1998. Kathy Reichs, a forensic anthropologist had been a member of a team to verify the authenticity of Jeanne Le Ber's bones. In 1943 the Recluse Sisters were founded in Alberta having inspiration of Jeanne Le Ber. In 2004 a federal electoral district was named in her honour. Source: D C B (2021) |
| Margaret 'Pegi' Kathleen Nicol MacLeod. née Nicol. Born January 4, 1904, Listowel, Ontario. Died February 12, 1949. A painter she was among the first wave of artists of Canadian modernism. She painted many works of the women’s division of the Armed Forces at the end of World War ll. She left over 1000 works of art in many media including designs for hooked rugs. | |
| January 5 | Myrtle Alice Cook McGowan. née Cook. Born January 5, 1902, Toronto, Ontario. Died March 18, 1985, Elora, Ontario. A true sporting enthusiast Myrtle excelled at tennis, ice hockey, basketball, bowling, cycling and canoeing. In 1917 she became a member of the women’s national track and field team. In 1923 she helped established the Toronto Ladies Athletic Club, the 1st of its kind for women in Canada. Later formed the Mercury Athletic Club with Hilda strike. Myrtle was one of the 1 of 6 women, known as the ‘Matchless Six’, to compete in the Olympic Games for Canada. In the Amsterdam Olympic Games of 1928 she won the gold medal in the women’s 4 X 100 meters with Fanny Rosenfeld (1904-1969), Ethel Smith (1907-1978), and Jane Bell (1910-1998). In 1929 she married journalist Lloyd McGowan. Continuing in competitions in the 100 meter and 60 yard events were also won by Myrtle through to 1931. After the 1928 Games she took up journalism with the Montreal Star writing a weekly column ‘In the Women’s Sport Light’. It was as a ski journalist that she was inducted into the Laurentian Ski Hall of fame. She was even asked to coach the Montreal Royals men’s baseball team in base running. She was also involved in training military recruits during World War ll. She was a member of British Empire/Commonwealth Games Committee throughout her life and a member of the Olympic Committee from 1932 through 1972. Myrtle became known as "Canada's First Lady of Sport," and in 1949 she was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame followed in 1955 with inclusion in Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and the Temple de la renommée du pantheon des sports du Québec in 1974. Athletic Canada presents the Myrtle Cook Trophy for Young Athlete of the Year. Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia Online (accessed 2008); Paul Patton, “Cook led the way for women athletes” in the Globe and Mail, March 22, 1985 Page 23. |
| Elizabeth Joan Smith. Born January 5, 1928, Calgary. Alberta. Died February 9, 2016, London, Ontario. Elizabeth earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto. She was the founding member of Mme. Vanier Children's Services and Diocesan Catholic Social Services in London, Ontario. In 1976 Elizabeth was elected to the London City Council where she served as alderman for nine yeas. In 1985 she was elected as a Member of the Ontario parliament and was re-elected in 1987 and in September 1987 she was appointed to the provincial cabinet as Solicitor General. She was forced in 1989 to resign after she had called the police to express her concern about the safety of a missing person. It was felt that this call from a person in her position caused the case to have undo attention. While she ran for election in 1990 and in 1995 but she was unsuccessful. She also served on the board of governors of the University of Western Ontario. She married Don Smith who founded EllisDon construction services. The couple had seven children. (2022) | |
| January 6 |
Marie Emilie Fortin Tremblay. née
Fortin. Born
January 4, 1872, Hébertville, Quebec.
Died April 21, 1949 Victoria, British Columbia.
She and her family liv ed in Cohoes, New York, U.S.A.
for a period of time and it was there that she
met and married Pierre-Nolasque "Jack' Tremblay
(d. 1935) A pioneer of the Yukon she was the
1st white woman to climb the Chilkoot trail
leading to the Yukon Gold fields in 1894. The
couple made their home at Miller Creek. Emilie
returned sough to Cohoes to attend to her sick
mother for two years. By 1898 they were settling
in Bonanza, Yukon where they earned enough money
to live comfortable and even to travel to
Europe. The couple adopted Emilie's nice.
Retiring from mining the family settled in
Dawson. She became a businesswoman in Dawson
operating a dry goods store in the Yukon. Her
store is now a heritage building. Emilie became
the founder and 1st president of the Society of
the Ladies of the Golden North. She was also
president of the Yukon Order of Pioneers
Auxiliary. She
was also a life member of the Imperial Order of
the Daughters of the Empire (I O D E). In
1937 she received the King George VI Coronation
medal. She traveled to Quebec City and to New
York City describing her northern adventures. In
1940 she married miner Louis Lagris. She
retired to Victoria. The 1st francophone school
in the Yukon was named in her honour. Sources:
Canadian Encyclopedia. |
| Nancy Ruth [Jackman]. Born January 6, 1942. Nancy Ruth describes herself as Canada's 1st feminist philanthropist. With less that 5% of funding from private foundations and corporations going to women and girls her philosophy remains : "If women don't give to women and girls, who will?" As an activist, Nancy Ruth was part of the 1981 push for the inclusion of the equity clauses (15 & 28) in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She is a founding mother of Canada's largest women's history website www.coolwomen.ca of The Womens' Legal Education and Action Fund - L E A F/F A R J. (Be sure check out the teen pages at the site) and of the Canadian Women's Foundation/Foundation des Femmes Canadiennes, who founded among other things the "White Ribbon Campaign". Nancy Ruth holds three honourary degrees and the Order of Canada. In March 2005, Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed her to the Senate of Canada. | |
| January 7 | Helen Gregory MacGill. Born January 7, 1864, Hamilton, Ontario. Died February 27, 1947. She was the 1st woman to graduate from Trinity College of the University of Toronto. When she settled with her young family in British Columbia she was the 1st woman of the region to be appointed a judge of the juvenile Court, a post she held for 23 years. |
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| January 8 |
Elizabeth Annie McGillivray
Knowles. née
Beach. Born January 8, 1866, Ottawa, Ontario.
Died October 4, 1928, Lancaster, New Hampshire,
U.S.A. She married her instructor Farquhar
McGillivray Knowles in 1895. The
couple made an extended study tour of Europe and
returned to Canada to establish their studio in
Toronto. In 1908 Elizabeth was elected as an
Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
She was also an executive member of the
Heliconian Club which consisted of women
involved in arts and letters in Toronto. A
painter of considerable recognition she
specialized in nature studies. She was elected
an associate of the Royal Academy of Art in
1908. In 1915 the couple relocated to New York
City, U.S.A. In 1919 she became an elected
member of the National Association of Women
Painters and Sculptors. During this time in the
U.S. the couple continued exhibiting their works
in Toronto and Montreal as well as throughout
the U.S.A. Elizabeth Knowles became a member of
the Pennsylvania Society of Miniature Painters,
the Brooklyn Society of Miniature Painters, the
Washington Watercolour Club, the American
Watercolour Society, and the League of American
Pen Women. Samples of her works are preserved in
the National Gallery of Canada and Parkwood
Museum, the home of Sam McLaughlin, Oshawa. |
| Sarah Polly. Born January 8, 1979, Toronto, Ontario. This actress became best known in Canada for her role in “Road to Avonlea”. She had however been working with Disney Studios since she was four years old. She is currently making the rare successful change from a child actor to adult actor. She is pursuing her education and has strong pacifist political views. | |
| January 9 | Félicité Angers. Born January 9, 1845, La Malbaie, Quebec. Died June 6, 1924. This was the pen name of Laure Conan, author of nine novels of French Canadian Life. She was a witness to her time. She was the first French Canadian female novelist. All her novels centered on the 3 driving forces of French Canadian life, family, nation, and religion. |
Catherine Parr Traill. née
Strickland. Born January 9, 1802, London, England.
Died August 29, 1899, Selwyn, Ontario. After the death of their
father in 1818 the Strickland daughters, There were five sisters
turned to writing to supplement the family income. at 16,
Catherine was writing children's books. Her 1st book The Tell
Tale: an Original Collection of Moral and Amusing Stories
was published anonymously in 1818. This pioneer came to Upper
Canada (now Ontario) with her retired army lieutenant husband,
Thomas Traill in 1832.The young couple were no doubt encouraged
on this endeavour by Catherine's sister, Susanna Moodie
(1803-1885) who also soon immigrated. The couple settled near
what is now Peterborough, Ontario which at that time was a
backwoods area. Catherine wrote of the life around her in what
was then The Canadas in her book, The Backwoods of Canada in
1836. In 1854 she published the Female Emigrant's
Guide which outlined the skills necessary for a new settled
in the Canadian backwoods. This book would later be republished
as the Canadian Settler's Guide. Her
sister, Susanna Moodie would also become a well known Canadian
author. In 1840 the Trails and Moodies both moved to the city of
Belleville, Ontario. in 1865 Catherine would also note
the flora of the region in her Canadian Wild Flowers, Studies
of Plant Life in Canada in 1885 and Rambles in the Canadian
Forest. In 1996 the book I Bless You in My Heart:
Selected Correspondence of Catherine Parr Trail was
published. Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario
named their downtown campus after her. Catharine
Parr Traill College is the University's main college for
graduate studies. In 2008 as par of the commemoration of the
50th anniversary of the National Library of Canada Canada post
issued a series of stamps featuring early Canadian writers that
included both Catherine Parr Traill and Susanna Moodie.
(2020) |
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| January 10 | Norah Mary Holland. Born January 19, 1876, Collingwood, Ontario. Died 1925. Norah moved to Toronto with her family in 1989. After completing high school she worked for the Dominion Press Clipping Bureau for several years Prior to joining the Toronto Daily News. A cousin to the famous Irish writer, W. B. Yeats, this Canadian novelist toured Ireland on foot in 1904. She published several of her works and in her own day she was a well-respected poet. She also published short stories and a play When Half Gods Go in 1929. |
| Ludmilla Chiriaeff. née Otzoup-Goeny. Born January 10, 1924, Riga, Latvia. Died September 22, 1996. Founder of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens she was a strong force in the development of dance in Quebec and Canada. | |
| January 11 | Mabel Aston McIntosh. née Ashton. Born January 11, 1922. In 1944 Mabel married Alex McIntosh. In the early 1960's Mabel took an interest in the Quebec Society for the Protection of Birds (P Q S P B). She read to educate herself and practiced what she learned in the field and learned additionally from other expert bird watchers. To finance her field trips she sold Avon Products out of her home. She even lectured at local schools and became interested in the scientific study of birds. Mabel was the mother of three children and her married life was not a happy one. It was difficult for her being totally dependant on her husband for her living expenses. She was elected to the Board of the P Q S P B and was editor of the Newsletter. She saved what she could and in 1971 Alex moved out of the family home. Her children were also living on their own by this time. After the breakdown of her marriage her passion became an obsession. She became involved with scientific activities such as the Breeding Bird Survey. She attended night school to learn commercial art and soon took a position as a draughtsman with Bell Telephone Company. She would grow and develop into a noted North American ornithologist. She travelled to South America and Africa. She has contributed data to scientific studies and published articles on hawk migration. In 2019 she received the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers from the Governor General. Source: Great Dames. (2019) |
Anne Heggtveit. Born
January 11,1939, Ottawa, Ontario. A member of a skiing family,
Anne came to international attention at the age of 15 when she
won the 1954
.png) Holmenkollen
Giant Slalom event in Norway, the youngest winner in the events’
50 year history. At the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics she won an
Olympic Gold Medal for Canada. In that same year she won the
giant slalom and combined women’s alpine titles the 1st time
ever by a non European. Anne earned the Lou Marsh Trophy as
Canada's Outstanding athlete in 1960 and that same year she was
inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. The following
year she received the John Semmelink Memorial Award. In the
summer of 1961 she married James Ross Hamilton and the couple
had two children. In 1971 she became a member of the Canadian
Olympic Hall of Fame. In 1976 she was named to the Order of
Canada. In 1982 she was among one of the first to be included in
the new Canadian Ski Hall of Fame. In 1995 she was inducted into
the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. There is a Heggtveit roan at
the Blue Mountain Ski Resort in the Town of the Blue Mountains,
Ontario. A double black diamond ski run is named after her at
Camp Fortune in the Gatineau Hill, Quebec.
(2021) |
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| January 12 |
Frances Brooke. née Moore. Born January 12, 1724, Claypole, Lincolnshire England. Died Jan 23, 1789, Seaford, England. She used the pseudonym Mary Singleton Spinster for her early writings and in 1755-1755 she founded a magazine she called The Old Maid which ran for 37 issues. Married in 1756 she gave up her publication. She joined her husband, the Rev. John Brooke, garrison chaplain at Quebec, from 1764 -1768. She wrote what may be described as the 1st Canadian novel The History of Emily Montague (4 vols. London 1769 reprinted in 1931) which was set in Quebec City. The work provides a vivid description of the Canadian landscape and social life including scandals of the time. Back in England she would pen additional novels but no more with a Canadian setting. She was also a playwright, essayist, librettist and stage director. She was well known in the London literary and theatrical circles. |
| Helen Vanderburg. Born January 12, 1959, Calgary, Alberta. A synchronized swimmer who won the 1973 Canadian Junior Championship. By 1977 she placed first at the Pan Pacific Games and swept the Canadian championships with 6 gold medals. In 1978 she became the first Canadian to win the world championship with gold medals in the solo and duet events. In 1979 she defeated 90 competitors to win the solo title at the world aquatic championships. She was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1983. | |
| January 13 | Marie-Geneviève Drapeau. née Noel. Born January 13, 1766, Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, Quebec. Died November 17, 1829. She married Joseph Drapeau in 1782 but became a widow with his death in 1810. As a wife she had no rights nor power but as a widow she had the same rights as an adult male. This was a law entitled Coutume de Paris. She took over the family businesses and rented out houses, businesses and lands. The monies were invested in real estate. She was a well known and respected business personality of her day. Upon her death her estate was divided evenly among her 6 daughters who ably continued the family businesses. |
Florence Bayard Bird. née
Rhein. Born January 13, 1908, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania U.S.A. Died July
18, 1998. A member of the Canadian Senate, under th e pen name of Anne Francis she was also an
author. She
was also a pioneer broadcaster and journalist.
In 1967 she was appointed Chairperson of the
Royal Commission of the Status of Women. She was
a Companion of the Order of Canada. |
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| January 14 |
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.
(2021) |
| Lucille Wheeler. Born January 14, 1935, Montreal, Quebec. Lucille first skied when she was two years old! At 12 she was the national junior ski champion and named to the Canadian National Ski Team at 14!. In 1956 she won bronze at the Cortina Olympic Games and became the first ever Canadian Olympic ski Medalist. In 1958 she won both the downhill and giant slalom event at the World Championships. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. | |
| January 15 |
Victoria Tennant. Born
January 15, 1947, London, England. This prima
ballerina of the National Ballet of Can ada
won international acclaim for her extraordinary
versatility and dramatic power as she danced
herself around the world for 25 years. Retired
from dance she turned her talents to writing and
producing for television and theatre. She has
written books for children and is doing
freelance writing for notable Canadian
magazines. She volunteers for charity and has
bee chairperson for UNICEF. She
has received the Order of Canada. |
| Andrea Martin. Born January 15, 1947, Portland, Maine U.S.A. This mother of two boys is well remembered for her work on Second City TV, Kate and Allie, and Sesame Street. She has had guest appearances since the 1950’s in such series as Maverick, Carol Barnet Show, Superman and doing voices on The Simpson’s. She has won two Emmy awards for her program writing and she won a Tony award for My favorite year. | |
Mazo de la Roche. Born
January 15, 1897, Newmarket, Ontario. Died July
12, 1961. While studying at the Ontario College
of Art in 1902 she would
publish her first short
story in Munsey's
Magazine. She would go on the write for
the Atlantic Monthly, the Canadian Magazine and
the Women's home Companion. In 1923 she
would publish her first novel followed in 1925
with an one act play. In 1927 she won a
$10,000.00 award for her novel Jelna.
This novel would be the first of 16 novels about
the Whiteoak family. Even the adoption of two
children in 1931 did not deter her writing. In
1954-55 the novels were adopted for television
by the British Broadcasting Corporation. There
was a renewed interest when the CBC TV produced
a Jelna series. However in current times
the novels are not on popular reading lists. |
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| Bonnie Burnad. Born January 15, 1945. This mother of three is a teacher and guest lecturer. She has toured South Africa, Sweden, Germany and England. To date, for her short stories, she has been awarded the Commonwealth Best First Book Award (1989), Saskatchewan Book of the Year Award (1994), the Marian Engel Award (1994) and the Giller Award(1999). | |
| January 16 |
Octavia Grace
England. née
Ritchie. Born January 16, 1868, Montreal, Quebec.
Died February 1, 1948. Originally refused entry
to McGill University, Montreal
 because the
institution did not accept women Octavia would
be the 1st woman to be valedictorian at McGill
University. She was the first woman to graduate
from a medical school in Quebec. |
| Marie Bottrell. Born January 16, 1961, London, Ontario. To her it seems she has always written and sang. When she was a teen, her brothers sent he son tapes to various country and western groups and she was soon hired as a writer and then she began recording and singing herself. Her first album, Just reach out came out when she was 17 years old. She has toured all over North America doing public and TV appearances. After a tour of Germany in 1980 she has maintained a loyal fan base there. She received the Best Country Awards for outstanding performance, country female singer in 1979 and best single recording for the Star in 1980. She was the Canadian Country Music Awards best female vocalist of the year in 1983 and 1984. She was nominated annually from 1979 through 1986 for Juno Awards. In 1991 she made a comeback with the hit Lasso your Love recorded in Nashville, U.S.A. | |
| January 17 |
Hannah Maynard. née
Hatherly. Born January 17 1834, Bude, England.  Died
May 15, 1918. She and her husband, Richard,
immigrated to Canada in 1852. Hannah learned
photography and followed her gold prospecting
husband to British Columbia where she began her
own gallery. Richard leaned the trade from her
and became a landscape photographer. Hannah was
well known for her portraits. |
| Nancy Argenta. née Herbison. Born January 15, 1957, Nelson, British Columbia. She spent her early years in the settlement of Argenta, near Nelson, which she would later take as her professional name. Raised in a musical family where her mother taught piano, she soon found herself studying voice in Vancouver. Canada Council Grants allowed her to continue her studies in Europe. In 1983 she had her first major international performance at Aix-en-Provence, France. In 1989 she was performing farther afield in the Middle East and Japan. In 1992 she recorded with Tafelmusic in Toronto and won a Juno Award. Her strong soprano voice and her hard work have allowed her to work with most of the leading Early Music conductors on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. | |
| January 18 | Thérése de Couagne. Born January 18, 1697. Died February 26, 1764. She married Francois Poulin de Francheville in 1718 and was a widow in 1733. She became interested in business after her husband's death. She would be known as an astute business woman and played an active role in New France economy. She was the owner of the slave Marie Joseph Angelique. It was this slave who while trying to cover her escape would set fire to the widow's house in 1734 and the fire would get out of control burning much of the settlement. |
Gwethalyn Graham
Erichse-Brown. Born
January 18, 1 913,
Toronto, Ontario. Died November 25, 1965. This
author would use only her first 2 names. The 1st
novel she wrote, she used her own experiences at
a Swiss Boarding school as a background. Swiss
Sonata (1938) won a Governor General's Award. Her
novel Earth and High Heaven was the first
Canadian novel to top the American bestseller
list (1945). This same novel would win a
Governor Generals Award, would sell for movie
rights (alas it was never to be a movie) and
would be translated into Braille and 18
different languages! She continued to write but
always in the shadow that she could never do as
well with another novel. She wrote articles on
immigration, anti-Semitism and women’s issues.
Later in her career, she successfully turned her
talents to writing TV Scripts. |
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| Elizabeth Smith–Shortt. Born January 18, 1859, Vinemount, Ontario. Died January 14, 1949. One of Canada’s early women doctors she almost single handedly fought fore Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario to become co-educational and accept women as students in medicine. She was an enthusiastic champion of women’s rights and was elected Vice President of the National Council of Women. | |
| January 19 | Charlotte Vale-Allen. Born January 19, 1941, Toronto, Ontario. Charlotte lived with an overbearing father who was physical with her. She left high school to take up her teen passion and studied formal night classes in acting. She once dressed as a messenger boy to take a fan letter to Bette Davis. Davis was smitten by the letter and she became friends with the young upstart. Escaping her home situation she moving to England and worked from 1961-64 in sleazy night spots to make a living. In the mid 1960’s she brought her career back to Canada. Married in 1970, she soon became an urban mother to a beautiful daughter. By 1975 the urge to write became strong and she wrote her only non-fiction book that would be called Daddy’s Girl about her abusive childhood. The subject of the book was not popular in that era and she would publish some fifteen works of fiction before she would get this ground breaking work to readers. She has penned over thirty books which have been grabbed up by the public, mainly in the United Kingdom where she is one of the most borrowed authors from libraries. Her books sell in over twenty countries but yet she is not overly recognized in Canada. She developed her own Press to publish her own commercial fiction Her stories deal with strong feisty women who discover that they can take care of themselves when it comes to living with adversity. She also writes under the pen name of Katherine Marlowe. She divides her time between her home in Toronto and a second home in Connecticut. Sources: “Ignored at home. Successful abroad” by Diane Frances MacLean’s October 15, 1999: Canadian Who’s Who 2005 (University of Toronto Press, 2005) |
| Alison Ruth Gordon. Born January 19, 1943, New York, U.S.A. As a journalist she worked for CBC Radio and the Toronto Star newspaper. She wrote a book about the Toronto Blue Jays but found her love to be writing mysteries centered on a sportswriter as a main character. If you like mysteries, visit your own public library and look up these books. | |
| January 20 |
Marcelle Ferron. Born
January 20, 1924, Louisville, Quebec. Died
November 19, 2001. A member of  a
group of artists known as Les Automatists she
has worked in medium such as stained glass. She
is primarily known for her dynamic paintings.
She uses vibrant colours and fluid forms to
cover her canvases. |
| Ruth Elizabeth Borson. Born January 20,1952. After her education in the U.S. she moved to study at the University of British Columbia. She began publishing her poetry in 1977. To date she has published 10 collections of her work. | |
| January 21 |
Josefina Napravilova. Born
January 21, 1914, Plzen, Czechoslovakia. Died
February 20, 2014, Tabor, Czechoslovakia. When
she was still an infant her father left to fight
in World War l and he did not return. She was
brought up by her mother who instilled in
Josefina humanitarian valued and strong
nationalism. She began studies in law but was
interrupted with the outbreak of World War ll
and Nazi  occupation
of her homeland. She met and married Karel
Napravil and the couple first lived in Prague.
At the end of the War Josefina set out to find
Czechoslovakian children who had been scattered
throughout Europe by the Nazi invasion. In May
1945 she joined the Prague uprising serving to
care for wounded during the fight to liberate
the city from the Germans. She joined the Red
Cross handing out food and supplies to people
freed from the concentration camps. It was at
this time that Josefina heard about Czech
children taken during the war. Hitler’s Nazi
soldiers murdered adults in Czech villages and
took the children to live with German families.
While many of the children ended up in
consecration camps and were murdered some of the
children were given German names so that they
could be assimilated as Germans. Josefina wanted
to being the children home to Czechoslovakia. .
She traveled by any means she could and slept on
benches at train stations if necessary. She
followed clues and hunches using her deceive
instinct and located 40 children. Josefina and
Karel never had any children of their own and
she loved to see the joy in the faces of the
children she managed to help. After the death of
her husband in 1948 she joined the International
Refugee Organization which caused her to be
stripped of her citizenship. She emigrated
arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia on December 6,
1949. She settled in British Columbia and worked
in a bank. She retired in 1979 to Guelph,
Ontario. A tireless volunteer in 1956 she helped
Hungarians arriving in Canada and in 1968 she
helped Czech refugees to Canada. Josephina was
awarded the Masaryk Medal for her war efforts
and in 1994 she returned to her beloved
Czechoslovakia to live. In 2013 a book : Dreams
and Memories by Josefina Napravilova was
published. Source:
Josefina Navratilova …second mother reunited
Czech families by Katerina Cizek in the Globe
and Mail March 8, 2014. Suggestion
submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario. |
| Ilana Miller. Born January 21, 1979, Toronto, Ontario. This Toronto actress began her career in the 1989 revitalization of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Club. She has also appeared as Cindy "Mac" MacNamera in the TV series Emerald Cove. Watch for this up and coming talent. | |
| January 22 | Laverna Katie Dollimore. Born January 22, 1922, Toronto, Ontario. Died October 24, 2011. After graduating from high school in 1938 she worked for various companies in Toronto at secretarial or bookkeeping. In 1942 she joined the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service posted to HMCS Cornwallis in Halifax. After World War ll she returned to secretarial work in Toronto. In 1956 she passed the public service exam and began working at the Canadian Department of External Affairs and was posted in Egypt, Poland, and other countries. In 1969 she joined the International Commission for Supervision and Control in Laos where she earned the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal. In 1977 she was working at the Canadian Embassy in Tehran, Iran with Ambassador Kenneth Taylor (1934-2015). She assisted in the ‘Canadian Caper’ which orchestrated the rescue of six American diplomats during the Iranian Revolution. Her heroic service was recognized with the Order of Canada. She retired from External Affairs in 1983. (2019) |
Doris Giller. Born
January 22,1931, Montreal, Quebec. Died April 25,
1993. She began her working career
as a secretary with a supermarket chain. She
joined the staff of the Montreal Star newspaper
in 1953 and thought persistence and hard work
she never accepted accepted the "Glass ceiling"
that kept many women in low positions. She rose
to be a reporter and editor at three of Canada's
major daily newspapers. Her husband Jack
Rabinovitch established the Giller Prize in
1994. It is Canada's premier literary prize for
literary fiction. |
|
| January 23 | Dora Ridout Hood. Born January 23, 1885, Toronto, Ontario. Died 1974. As a young widow with two children Dora supported herself by opening a small reading room in her house. She was one of the first book dealers in Toronto to specialize in 'out-of–print' Canadian books. The Dora Hood Book Room received royal warrant from Buckingham Palace to acquire Canadiana! She developed precise and profitable catalogue of Canadian books. After retiring from the Book Room she became an author herself producing two books. |
Margaret Peggy/Peg
Seller. Born
January 23,1905, Edinburgh, Scotland. Died March
31, 1996 Montreal, Quebec. This Montreal athlete
began her interest  in
sport by competing in track and hold provincial
titles in javelin, broad jump and running
relays. She also excelled in swimming and
diving, holding the national record for
the three meter diving championship. From 1925
through 1928 she earned the Gale Trophy as in
National Synchronized Swimming and was known as
the First Lady of Synchronized swimming. 1948
to 1950 she was the 1st woman to hold the
position of Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian
Amateur Swimming Association. Perhaps her legacy
is better shown in her writings of the rules of
synchronized swimming. In 1952 she wrote the
Federation Internationale de Natation
synchronized swimming rules as well as the 1st
descriptive book for the sport. |
|
| January 24 | Phyllis Lambert. Born January 24, 1927, Montreal, Quebec. A trained and accomplished architect she designed the Saidy Bronfman Center in Montreal and served as consultant for the Toronto Dominion Center. She won the National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects for her work in Los Angeles. She is the founder and director of the Canadian Center for Architecture, a world-class museum and study center in Montreal. She is an officer in the order of Canada. |
| Shae-Lynn Bourne. Born January 24, 1976, Chatham, Ontario. Shae-Lynn began skating in 1983 and competed in pair skating with Andrew Bertleff. Switching to ice dance and partnered with Victor Kraatz (1971- ). The pair would be reigning champions in Canada winning 10 national titles between 1992 and 2002. They would compete in three Winter Olympic Games in 1994, 1998, and 2002 where they placed 4th. The couple were the 1st world Champions in ice dancing from North America to win gold in the World Championships in 2003. The pair retired from competition after 2003 with Shae-Lynn has toured around the world skating professionally as a solo skater. She appeared on the TV reality skating show Battle of the Blades and made other notable TV appearances. She also enjoys coaching and doing choreography. August 12, 2005 she married her skating coach Nikolai Morozov only to be divorce in July 2007. She married a second time to Bohdan Turok and the couple has one son. In 2007 they were inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame. | |
| January 25 | Emoke Jolan Ezsebet Szathmary. Born January 25, 1944, Ungvar, Hungary. Emoke emigrated to Canada and studied for her BA at the University of Toronto. By 1974 she had earned her PhD. That same year she married George Alexander. The couple have two children. Her academic career began at Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario and then to McMaster University, Hamilton Ontario. By 1989 she was Dean of Faculty, School of Social Sciences at the University of Western Ontario , London, Ontario where she went on to hold positions of Provost and Vice President (Academic). The family settled in Manitoba in 1996 where Emoke is President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Manitoba. While working full time as a mother and academic administrator she was editor for the Journal of Physical Anthropology (1995-2001) and President of the Canadian Association of Physical Anthology as well as writing numerous published articles and papers. In 2003 she became a member of the Order of Canada. The next year she was named one of Canada’s top 100 most powerful women by the Women’s Executive Network and the Richard Ivy School of Business. She was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2005. Source: Canadian Who’s Who 2006 (2021) |
| Sara Barber. Born January 25, 1941, Brantford, Ontario. As a teen she was a member of the Canadian International Swim teams from 1954 through 1962.In 1956 she was one of the youngest team members at the Melbourne Australia Olympic Games. In 1959 she held the world record for the 100 meter back stroke. And won a silver medal at the Pan Am Games. In 1958 and 1969 she represented Canada at the British Empire Games and won silver and bronze medals. She is married to Donald Jenkins and they have three children. In 1964 she attended McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario for her BA and went on to earn her BNE. She is a member of the group of Olympians who were honoured in 2002 on the Brantford walk of Fame. Suggested source: Who’s who in Canadian Sport by Bob Ferguson. | |
| January 26 | Maureen Lorimer Roberts. née McWilliams. Born January 26, 1915, Peterhead, Scotland. Died 2004, Ottawa, Ontario. Maureen graduated in medical studies from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in 1937. In 1939 she earned a diploma in child health from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. In 1940 she married Dr. Richard Roberts. In 1944 she left her son in England and served in the Indian Medical Service. After the World War ll, back in England, the couple established a medical practice near Canterbury. By 1948 they were in Halifax, Nova Scotia where Richard joined the Canadian Navy to earn money and continue in depth medical training while Maureen taught Pediatrics at Dalhousie University. Reading about Medic Alert bracelets and their success in the U.S.A., on June 18, 1961 they put up $1,000.00 to begin the Canadian Medic Alert Foundation which flourished with her efforts and dedication. In 1964 the couple joined a medical expedition and sailed to Easter Island. In 1966, posted to Ottawa, Maureen set up a genetic counselling service. In 1980 the retired Dr. Maureen worked with an Ottawa day care center. Sources: Charlotte Grey, ‘Maureen Roberts’ in the Canadian Medical Journal Vol. 131 November 15, 1984: Valerie Knowles, Capital Lives, Volume 2, 2010. (2020) |
| Allison Hossack. Born January 26, 1965, Steinbach, Manitoba. Allison graduated from Brandon University in Manitoba in 1988 earning a Bachelor of Music. After graduation she was offered a part in the daytime TV series Another Word which she appeared in to 1992. She also has had roles in Cobra, Profit, Hope Island, and in 2004 Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital. She has also appeared in such Canadian productions Da Vinci's Inquest, and Falcon Beach in 2006. She has made guest appearances through the years in numerous TV shows including The Killing and in 2017 The Good Witch. Allison makes her home in Toronto. (2018) | |
| January 27 |
Blanche Margaret
Meagher. Born
January 27, 1911, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died
February 25,
 1999.
This diplomat was one of four pioneering
women in the administration of the Canadian
federal government where she worked at the
Department of External Affairs. She served
in Mexico and London and then in 1958 she
was the first woman to become appointed as
an ambassador for Canada. She served as
Canadian ambassador to Israel, Austria
Sweden. |
| Susan Aglukark. Born January 27, 1967, Churchill, Manitoba. Her Inuit name is Uuliniq. She is one of six children. She actually worked as a civil servant at the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs in Ottawa for awhile but gave it up to be able to sing. She had produced three albums and two hit singles by 1999. The music video for Searching won best cinematography honors at the 1991 Canadian Music Video Awards. She is a committed family person and does motivational talks to youth advising that "staying in school is cool ." | |
| January 28 | Rt. Hon. Ellen Louks Fairclough. Born January 28, 1905, Hamilton, Ontario. Died NNovember 13, 2004. Her first career was as an accountant. She owned her own firm when she was elected to Hamilton City council in 1946. In 1950 she was elected to the House of Commons in Ottawa. In 1957 she became the 1st woman to be appointed to the post of a Cabinet Minister in the Canadian Parliament. In 1989 she was presented with the Governor General's Persons Award. In 1992 the Queen invested her with the title "Right Honourable". She was made a Companion in the Order of Canada in 1995. You can read about her remarkable life in her memoirs which were published in 1995 under the title Saturday's Child. |
| Anne Montming. Born January 28,1975. A member of the national Canadian Diving Team, Anne has won 19 international medals to date. She won the gold medal in the Junior World Championships and she is the Canadian record holder in Women's Platform Diving. | |
Sarah McLachlan. Born
January 28, 1968, Halifax, Nova Scotia. She
studied classical guitar, piano  and
voice as a child. As a teen she was a member of
a new wave band. Since releasing TOUCH in
1988 she has explored her own unique musical
interests being indifferent to current trends
and fads. Her songs convey a passionate honesty
rarely found in today’s music. |
|
| January 29 | Leila Wightman. née Schnurr. Born January 29, 1899, Mildmay, Ontario. Died November 22, 1976, Clifford, Ontario. .On October 14, 1925 Leila married Benjamin Wightman of Wightman Communications in Clifford, Ontario. His Father, Robert Wightman, had been a frustrated farmer whom Bell Telephone could not serve. Robert set up his own company in 1908 so he and his neighbours, could have a telephone. Leila acted as lead operator and office administrator for the telephone company after her marriage to Benjamin. At the same time the couple brought up a family of four children. In 1947 Benjamin died and Leila decided to keep the company going. This made her the 1st woman telephone company owner. In 1953 she instituted the superior 4-diget dial service while the much larger Bell Telephone Company systems which were still cranking the old magneto telephones. The new system was the most modern of its day and heralded the arrival of 24 hour service telephone service. Leila had set the company on the path to modernization that kept the company going. Leila was inducted as member of the Telecommunications Hall of Fame in 2006. Sources: Telecommunications Hall of Fame (accessed October 2011) ; also family provided vital information. |
| Lois Catherine Marshall. Born January 29, 1924, Toronto, Ontario. Died February 17, 1997. Though she suffered from polio as a child it did not stop this opera singer. Her career too her all over the world to sing in the world’s greatest operatic productions and for solo appearances. She received many acknowledgements for her contributions to Canadian society including the Molson Prize and being a companion in the Order of Canada. | |
| January 30 |
Dr. Lucille Teasdale-Corti. Born
January 30, 1929, Montreal, Quebec. Died August
1, 1996, Lombardy, Italy. From the age of 12 she
knew just what s he wanted to do, she wanted to
be a doctor. She studies at the University of
Montreal and in 1955 was the 1st woman
in Quebec to receive a diploma as a surgeon. She
attempted to obtain training abroad but was
turned down by American hospitals because she
was a women. During her internship in Montréal
Lucille met Piero Corti,
a young Italian doctor studying pediatrics. His
dream to establish a world-class teaching
hospital in Africa. He had already heard about a
small clinic near Lacor, a town not far from
Gulu, a city in northern Uganda. It was little
more than a dispensary with a few dozen beds,
but he saw it as a starting point. In 1961, she
joined forces with Corti, her future husband,
and they worked in Uganda for more than thirty
years. Dr. Teasdale would tend to as many as 300
outpatients each morning and perform surgeries
in the afternoon. Dr. Teasdale performed more
the 13,000 surgeries working through Idi Admin’s
dictatorship, civil wars, epidemics and
massacres. She received many awards for her life
work including being an Officer of the Order of
the Merit of the Republic of Italy in 1981,
inducted as a member of the Order of Canada
1991, named a Grand Officer of the National
Order of Québec 1995, and awarded the Saskawa
Prize with her husband in 1996. This is the most
prestigious distinction awarded by the World
Health Organization of the United Nations. She
died from aids which she contracted while
operating on an infected soldier. Canada Post
issued a commemorative stamp in her honour as
part of the Millennium series, January 17, 2000.
In 2001 she was inducted into the Canadian
Medical Hall of Fame. Sources:
Dr. Lucille Teasdale. Canadian Medical Hall of
Fame Online (Accessed 2005) ; Lucille Teasdale.
The Canadian Encyclopedia Online (Accessed 2005)
; Dawson, Joanna and Beverly Tallon. “Helping
Heroes: Canadians who made a difference in the
world.’ In Canada’s History February-
March 2013 |
| Margot Finlay. Born January 30,1980, London, Ontario. Margot he moved to Vancouver in 1989 and studied with the Vancouver Youth Theatre. She has acted in numerous films including: Misery Harbour, Opposite Sex, In Cold Blood, and The Adventures of Yellow Dog. | |
| January 31 |
Gathie
Falk. Born
January 31, 1928, Alexander, Manitoba. In 1930
the family moved to southern Manitoba before
finally settling in Winnipeg, Manit oba. At 16
she left school to work to help her family. She
would complete her high school education with
correspondence courses. At
19 she and her lover relocated to Vancouver,
British Columbia. She taught elementary school
until 1965 when she decided to make her career
in art. An artist who works with multimedia
producing works in ceramics, painting and
papier-mâché. She took her subjects from daily
life such as a ceramic sculpture of fruit pies.
She has has had group and solo exhibitions of
her works across North America, France and
Japan. Her works are collected by the Vancouver
Art Gallery, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the
National Art Gallery in Ottawa as well as by
private collectors. In 2002 she was inducted
into the Order of British Columbia. In 2013 she
earned the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement
in the Visual Arts. (2017) |
| Sylvie Bernier. Born January 31, 1964, Quebec City, Quebec. In 1982 Sylvie won a silver medal in Diving at the Commonwealth Games, Brisbane, Australia. The next year at the Pan American Games, Caracas, Venezuela, she earned a diving Bronze medal. She also earned Bronze at the F I N A World Cup Diving and the World University Games. In 1984 Sylvie was the first Canadian to win a medal in Olympic Diving. She won the gold in the 3-meter springboard diving in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. In December 1984 Sylvie announced her retirement from competitive diving and took a position as an advisor for the Canadian federal Department of Fitness and Amateur Sport. She also began volunteering as a technical advisor with the Association's youth development program in January 1985 In June 1985 she became a Knight of the National Order of Quebec and a member of the Order of Canada. At the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, Turin, Italy she served as Assistant Chef de Mission for the Canadian Olympic Team. She earned her degree in Télé- Université in 2003. She was the Chef de Mission for Canada at the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing, China. In 2011 she earned a master's degree from McGill University, Montreal. In 2012 served again as Assistant Chef de Mission for the Olympic Games, London, England. She had dedicated herself to promoting good health for over 40 years. She originated the Foundation de l'athleete d'excellence du Québec and had chaired the Table de concentration sur un monde de vie physiquement active and the Table Québécoise sur la saine alimentation. In 2019 she was inducted into the Ordre de Montréal. The Piscine Sylvie-Bernier in Quebec City in named in her honour. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and in 1996 was the first Canadian diver to be inducted into the Swimming Hall of Fame. She is also a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. In spring 2019 she published a book and a documentary both called The Day I Could Not Dive which spoke to the drowning oher nephew Raphael. Sylvie is the mother of three daughters. (2022) |
