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Return to the
Introduction |
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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
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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Copyright © 1998-2023 Dawn E. Monroe. All rights reserved |
ISBN: 0-9736246-0-4 |
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May 1 |
Emily Howard Stowe. née
Jennings. Born May 1, 1831, Norwich, Upper
Canada (now Ontario). Died April 30,1903,
Toronto, Ontario. Emily's mother was a Quaker
who encouraged her six daughters to obtain a
good education. Like many young women of her era
Emily was a teacher at local schools. She was
refused entry to Victoria College, Cobourg,
Ontario because she was a woman. She became a
life long champion of women’s rights. She
attended the Normal School (Teacher's College)
for Upper Canada, Toronto graduating
in 1854. She worked
as principal at a Brantford, Ontario public
school becoming the first woman principal of a
public school in Upper Canada.
She married John Fiuscia Michael Heward Stowe in
1854. Together the couple had three children.
With no Canadian institution allowing women to
study medicine she studied at the New York
Medical College for women in the United States
and in 1868 became
the first Canadian woman to practice medicine in
Canada and the second licensed female physician
in Canada. She opened her
practice in Toronto. In 1876 she founded the
Toronto Literary Club which became the Canadian
Women's Suffrage Association in 1883. She gained
notoriety when she was accused and acquitted of
administering drugs to cause an abortion in
1879. On July 16 1880 she received her medial
license from the College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Ontario. In 1883 a meeting of the
Suffrage Association would lead to the creation
of the Ontario Medical College for Women. Her
daughter Augusta Stowe Gullen (1857-1943) was
the first woman to earn a medical degree in
Canada. She was also founder and first president
of the Dominion Women’s Enfranchisement
Association in 1889. In 1893 she broke her hip
at the Columbian Exposition's Women's Congress
and she retired from medicine. In 1896 she and
Augusta participated in a mock parliament where
discussion was centered around the question of
giving men the vote! Public school have been
named in her honour, a women's shelter in
Toronto is named in her honour and in 2018 she
was inducted into the Medical Hall of Fame.
image used with permission Canada Post Corporation(2021) |
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Eleanor Brass.
née Dieter. Born May 1, 1905, Peepeekisis
Reserve, Saskatchewan. Died May 20, 1992,
Regina, Saskatchewan. While Eleanor did attend
high school she left early to begin work. In
1925 she married Hector Brass. Eleanor wanted to
educate white people about her own people. In
1944 she became the first woman executive to
serve as the secretary-treasurer of the
Association of Indians of Saskatchewan. She
would go on to establish and help run groups
such as the Regina Friendship Centre. She became
employed to work for the provincial government
of Saskatchewan as an advisor for Aboriginal
employment. In Alberta she ran the Peace River
Friendship centre and served as correspondent
for Alberta Native Communication. In 1949 she
began to write with an article Breaking the
Barriers' published in the Regina Leader-Post.
She would soon be writing columns in the Leader
Post and the Melville Advance as well as
contributing articles to magazines. She would
publish tow books. In 1979 she published
Medicine Boy and Other Cree Tales followed in
1987 with her autobiography; I Walk in Two
Worlds. Source:
Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan online
(accessed 2022) |
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May 2 |
Budge Marjorie MacGregor Wilson. née
Archibald. Born May 2,1927, Nova Scotia. Died
March 19, 2021, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Budge
attended Dalhousie University, Halifax,
graduating with her Bachelor of Arts in 1949.
Post graduate studies followed at the University
of Toronto (U of T) and by 1953 she had obtained
a Diploma of Education as well as a certificate
in physical education. That same year she
married Alan Wilson and together they had two
children. She had taught English at Halifax
Ladies College prior to working at the Institute
of Child study at U of T. She would also work at
the Toronto Public Library and Acadia
University. In 1968 she was a fitness instructor
with the Peterborough County Board of Education
and at the Young Women's Christian Association
(Y W C A) in Ontario. working to 1987. An
acclaimed author, Budge did not begin her
writing career until she was in her 50's. Her
first book, The Best/Worst Christmas Present
Ever appeared in 1984 when she was 56. Her
writings began winning awards with the CBC
Fiction Award in 1981. She has won among some 25
other awards the Atlantic Writing Competition
for fiction, the Canadian Library Association
Award, the Mariana Dempster Award, and the
Thomas Randall Award. Most of her books, more
than 30 titles, were for youth although she
often writes with adults in mind. In 1989 she
and her husband relocated to Nova Scotia. In
1998 she was inducted into the Her works have
been published in eleven countries and nine
different languages. Perhaps you have read some
of her books? The Leaving (1990), The
Courtship (1994), Cordelia Clark (1994),
Fractures (2002), and Friendships (2006)
are a few of the titles she has written. In
2004 she was inducted into to the Order of
Canada. In 2008, well known for her five
collections of short stories, she was selected
to write prequel, Before Green
Gables, in celebration of 100 years of Anne.
In 2011 she was inducted into the Order of Nova
Scotia and in 2012 she received the Queen
Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal. In 2016
she published a collection of poetry, After
Swissair.
Source:
Information submitted by Alan Wilson;
Obituary on Legacy (accessed 2021)
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May 3 |
Julia Arthur. née
Ida Lewis. Born May 3,1869, Hamilton, Ontario.
Died March 28,1950, Boston, Massachusetts,
U.S.A. She chose her stage name for her acting
career from her mother's family name. As a
youth of 11 she played in some amateur
theatricals in her home. She had her stage debut
at the age of 14 in the United States performing
in Shakespearian plays with the Bandmann
Traveling Theatre. After three seasons she was
off to Berlin to study the violin but soon
changed to voice and theatre. In 1895 she went
to act in London, England. having secured an
engagement at the Lyceum Theatre. Back in North
America after her European tour she accepted a
position with a company in California, U.S.A.
and eventually headed to New York City, U.S.A.
and toured the eastern coast. In 1889 and 1890
she was back to stages in Canada. After more
time in the United States she was back with
success appearances in London England and while
with the Lyceum Company she earned an
international status. In the summer of 1897 she
returned to the U.S. as the star of her own
company financed by her brother and the wealthy
Bostonian Benjamin Cheney. She married
Benjamin Pearce Cheney on February 23, 1898 and
took a few years reprieve from the stage. In
1914 she returned to the stage doing a benefit
performance at the Boston Theater for the
European Actor's Relief Fund. In 1924 she had a
very successful tour of her beloved Canada. As
well as her stage appearances she was the star
of such movies as Napoleon, The Man of
Destiny and Uncle Tom's Cabin. |
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Joyce Carmen Barkhouse.
née Killam. Born May 3, 1913, Woodville, Nova
Scotia. Died February 2, 2012, Bridgewater, Nova
Scotia. While as a youth she dreamed of
 being a
missionary, she took the reality check of
becoming a teacher. She attended the Truro
Normal Collage (Teacher’s College) in 1932. She
encouraged all her students, even her niece,
Margaret Atwood. She often wrote short stories,
poems and plays for her students to provide
Canadian content and context that was missing
from regular school provided textbooks. In 1942
she married Milton Joseph Barkhouse ( - 1968)
and took time from her teaching and writing to
raise her two children. In 1974 she published
her 1st book: George Dawson: the Little
Giant. In 1980 she collaborated with
Margaret Atwood for the book: Anna’s Pet.
Her work, The Pit Pony won the Ann Connor
Brimer Award in Children’s Literature. This
story went on to win a Gemini Award when
produced as a CBC TV film and later was redone
as a min series for TV. She was a member of the
Writer’s Federation of Nova Scotia, The writer’s
Union of Canada, and the Canadian Society of
Children’s Authors, Illustrators and performers.
She was inaugurated into the Order of Nova
Scotia in 2007 and the Order of Canada in 2009. |
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May 4 |
Clementina Fessenden.
née Trenholme. Born
May 4, 1843, Kingsley
Township, Lower Canada (now Quebec). Died
September 14, 1918, Hamilton, Ontario. On
January 4, 1865 she married Elisha Joseph
Fessenden (died 1896) and together they had four
sons.
Clementina enjoyed dressing as Queen Victoria
and was pleased when people noticed a
resemblance to the Queen. She joined the League
of the Empire, the Brome County Historical
Society in Quebec and the Wentworth Historical
Society. After the death of her husband she
relocated to Hamilton, Ontario and in the
following year, 1897, she began a public
campaign for the establishment of an empire day
in Canada's schools. May 24, 1898 Empire Day was
first observed in Dundas, Ontario. She turned
her loyalty for the British Empire into her work
as organizing secretary of the Hamilton chapter
of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the
Empire (I.O.D.E.) now known as the Fessenden
Chapter. She wrote about this holiday in a
pamphlet entitled. Our Union Jack: the genesis
of Empire Day in 1898. She worked to have
Dundurn Castle, the mansion of Sir Allan Napier
MacNab preserved as a museum and in 1900 she
became the cuator. She was a member of the
Women's Institute and the National of Women of
Canada. During World War 1 she worked on the
city's Belgian Relief Committee.
It was largely due to her letter campaigns and
even direct confrontation that May 24,
originally celebrated as EMPIRE DAY, was
established as a holiday in Canada. For several
years after her death the I O D E held Empire
Day services at her grave side at St John's
Anglican Church Ancaster, Ontario and in 1928 a
commemorative plaque was installed there.
Empire Day in now celebrated as the Victoria Day
long weekend in Canada.
(2021) |
| |
Kathy
Kreiner-Phillips. née
Kreiner. Born
May 4, 1957, Timmons, Ontario. Kathy was
introduced to skiing when she was just three
years old. She began World Cup competition when
she was just 14, the year she joined the
national ski team. She won her 1st World Cup
race a Pfronten, West  Germany in 1974. She made
the Olympic team in 1972 placing fourth in the
Giant Slalom. In 1974 she won the gold medal in
the Skiing World Cup giant slalom and two years
later, at her second Olympics, she captured the
gold medal in the giant slalom event. It was the
only Canadian medal in Innsbruck. In 1976 she
was named Canada’s outstanding female athlete of
the year taking the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award and
was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of
Fame. She participated in the 1980 Winter
Olympic Games at Lake Placid, New York, U.S.A.
but did not make the podium. She retired from
competition in 1981. After earning her BA from
the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah,
U.S.A. she studied at the University of Ottawa
earning a Master's Degree in sports psychology.
Kathy married former freestyle skier Dave
Phillips. She is the owner and a consultant at Momentus Mental Training. She has consulted with
numerous National, Provincial and club level
teams since 1990. |
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May 5 |
Betty Farrally.
née Hey. Born May 5, 1915, Bradford, England.
Died April 9, 1989, Kelowna, British Columbia.
Betty trained in dance at a studio in Leeds,
England. In 1938 she emigrated to Canada with
her former dance teacher Gweneth Lloyd. The two
women opened the Winnipeg Dace Club in 1939 and
changed the name to Winnipeg Ballet in 1941. In
1945 the dance company began to tour and in 1953
they received Royal patronage as the Royal
Winnipeg Ballet (R W B). Betty was the Ballet
Mistress training and rehearsing the dancers as
well as being a principle dancer. When Gweneth
Lloyd relocated to Toronto in 1950, Betty
remained to work with the R W B. Betty also
worked with Gweneth as co-head of the Banff
School of the Arts summer dance program for many
years. In mid 1950’s she moved with Gweneth to
Kelona , British Columbia where they founded a
branch of the Canadian Ballet School. In 1970
she received the Manitoba Centennial Medal
celebrating the 100 years of the Provincial
history. In 1981 she was inducted into the Order
of Canada and in 1984 she received the Dance in
Canada Award.
Sources: Memorable Manitobans online (accessed
April 2014) ; The Canadian Encyclopedia online
(accessed April 2014). Book: The Royal Winnipeg
Ballet: the first forty years (1979). (2021) |
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Barbara Aileen Wagner. Born
May 5, 1938, Toronto, Ontario. In 1952
Barbara and Robert Paul formed one of Canada’s
most successful figure skating pairs. They
began skating in 1952 and by 1954 they were
Canadian Junior pairs champions. By 1956 they
won in the senior Canadian championships and
successfully defended their national title
through 1960. They skated winning gold in the
North American Championships in 1957 and 1959.
They would win gold in the worlds again in 1958,
1959, and again in 1960. In 1959 they received
the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canadian Athelete of the
Year. Even though the recorded music to their
routine skipped at the beginning of the skate
and they had to restart, so spectacular was
their routine at the 1960
Olympics in Squaw Valley, California, U.S.A.
that 7 judges ranked them 1st place. Barbara
and Bob were the 1st North American pair to win
Olympic gold and
remained the only one to do so until 2002. The
pair turned professional and skated with the Ice
Capades from 1961 to 1964. . They are both
members of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. In
1980 they were inducted into the World Figure
Skating Hall of Fame. Barbara married
figure skater James Grogan (1937-2000) and
the couple coached inn Alpharetta, Georgia,
U.S.A.
(2019) |
| May 6 |
Alice Kinear. Born
May 6, 1894, Cayuga, Ontario. Died April 25, 1970,
She graduated from the University of Toronto and
Osgoode Hall  Law
School and was called to the Ontario bar, to
become a lawyer, in 1920. She practiced law in
Port Colborne, Ontario. After the death of her
father in 1924 she opened her own practice until
1943, when she was appointed county-court judge
for Haldimand County. In
1934 she became the 1st woman in the British
Commonwealth to be created a King's Council. In
1935 she became the 1st woman lawyer in Canada
to appear before the Supreme Court of Canada.
In the 1940's after two previous failed attempts
she was the Liberal Party nominee for her riding
but she relinquished her role to a man and she
never ran to be a candidate again. In 1943 she
became a county-court Judge in Haldimand County,
Ontario becoming the 1st woman in Canada
appointed a judge by the federal government. In
1947 she was appointed judge of the Juvenile
Court the 1st woman in the British Commonwealth
appointed as a county court judge.
When she attended the Commonwealth and Empire
Law Conference in 1955 she was recognized as
the only woman in the Commonwealth to have been
made a county court judge. In
1954,she was appointed to two Royal
Commissions: the Royal
Commission for the Criminal Law Relating to
Sexual Psychopaths and the Royal Commission
Relating to the Defense of Insanity. In
1961 her il health forced her to retire and she
returned home to Port Colborne. In 1965 she
received a John Howard Society Medal for her
services. In 1993 the Canadian Post Office
issued a commemorative stamp to honour the
achievements of this woman Lawyer. In 1999 her
home town of Pot Colborne declared her home an
historic town site.
(2020) Stamp
image copyright Canada Post
used with permission |
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Louise
Portal. née
Lapointe. Born
May 6, 1951, Chicoutimi, Quebec. A Twin, both she
and her sister Pauline too to being actors. This
actress has be recognized with nominations for
Best Actress Genie Award in1980 and won the Best
Supporting Actress Genie Award in 1987 for the
film The Decline of the American Empire. In
the film Sous-sol in1996 she won the Guy-L'ecuyer
Award for Best Actress. She has also won two
Gemini Awards in 1994 and 1996 for her work on
TV. As if this was not enough she has written an
novel, Jeanne Janvier and has written
plays. Composing some 40 songs she has released
4 successful albums. In 2015 she had a staring
role in the TV Series Marie-Louise and
from 2012- 2015 Lance et Compte. She
has been successful appearing in French language
series for TV.
(2018) |
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May 7 |
Adelaid e
'Laddie' Margaret Eleanor Marie
Dennis.
née
Boissoneau. Born May 7, 1920, Winnipeg Manitoba.
Died February 22, 2009, Toronto, Ontario. The
outgoing young Laddie took courses and performed
at the Montreal Repertory Theatre. Moving to
Toronto and adopting her mother’s maiden name
she took a fashion model position which lead her
to fashion commentary. She became a writer and
on-air-host for the Laura Secord Music Box
show, CFRB Radio. She worked with Monty Hall
(later a famous
U.S. game
show host of Let’s Make a Deal) and acted in CBC
radio dramas along with doing hundreds of radio
commercials. In 1946 Laddie wore dark pancake
make-up, brown lipstick and green nail polish to
provide the best image on demonstration black
and white television sponsored by Eaton’s
Department Stores. In 1951 she married novelist,
editor, critic, and advocate for the disabled
James Burke (1917-2006). Their romance lasted 55
years.
She became the first
Canadian woman to appear on Canadian TV,
September 8, 1952. Laddie
was named Liberty Magazine’s 1955 TV
Demonstrator of the Year. After a brush with
cancer, Laddie found a job with regular hours
from 1970-1985 as Director, Public
Relations Scarborough Public Libraries. On
vacation she travelled to Morocco and upon
return she sold her travel story. Thus began a
journalistic career that would cover 80
countries. She was presented with the first
Lifetime Achievement Award , 2001 by the Travel
Media Association of Canada.
Sources: Northern Stars (accessed March 2009):
Canadian Broadcast Museum Foundation, (accessed
March 2009); Personal knowledge. (2021) |
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Janina
Fialkowska.
Born May 7, 1951, Montreal, Quebec. Janina began
talking piano lessons at the age of four from
her mother. At the age of twelve she had made
her debut as a soloist with the Montreal
Symphony Orchestra. By the age of 17 she
simultaneously earned her BA and her Master's
degree from the Université of Montréal. This
pianist studied in Montreal, Paris, and the
Julliard School in New York City, U.S.A. In 1969
she won 1st prize in the CBC National Radio
Competition for Young Performers. In 1974 she
had a prize-winning performance at the 1st
Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master
Competition, Tel Aviv, Israel. She is
celebrated as one of the great interpreters of
the music of the composers Chopin and Liszt.
She also enjoys performing works from Mozart,
Chopin, Prokofiev, and Rachmaninoff. She is
known as a pianist of great power who also plays
with warmth and tone. She has performed
throughout Europe , North America and the Far
East. In 2001 she married Harry Oesterle a
German music manager. She is the founder and
artistic director of Piano Six, a not-for-profit
educational outreach program dedicated to
keeping classical music alive in small
communities throughout Canada. The program was
expanded in 2004 to include musicians from
strings and voice as well as piano with the new
name Piano Plus. In 2001 Janina was inducted as
an Officer in the Order of Canada. In 2007 she
was awarded the Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford
Career Achievement Award for Keyboard Artistry.
In 2007 she was implemented in one of the
biggest scandals in the classical recording
business. In 2012 she received the Governor
General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime
Artistic Achievement. |
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May 8 |
Barbara Howard.
Born
May 8, 1920, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died
January 26, 2017, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Even during her days attending public school
 Barbara was a fast runner. While attending high
school she was recognized for her prowess on the
track. In 1937 she was chosen to represent
Canada after she beat the British Empire record
for the 100 yard spring at the Western Canadian
British Empire Game trials with a time of 11.2
seconds.
At the British Empire
Games in 1938 in Sydney, Australia she was
nervous and came only 6th in the 100 yard event.
However, she won a silver medal in the 440 yard
event and a bronze medal in the 660 yard relay.
She was the 1st Black Canadian to compete
internationally. There
were no Olympic Games in 1940 and 1944 when the
second world war took world attention. She went
on to attend Normal School (teacher’s college)
earning a Bachelor of Education from the
University or British Columbia. In 1941 she
became the 1st visible minority person hired by
the Vancouver School Board. She taught for 43
years retiring in 1984. She was inducted into
the British Columbia Sport Hall of Fame in 2012.
(2021) |
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Agnes Helen Fogwill
Porter. née Wright. Born
May 7, 1930, St. John’s, Newfoundland. Helen
attended the Prince of Wales, St John's,
Newfoundland and worked as a typist with the
provincial Department of Justice. In 1953 she
married John Porter and the couple had four
children. She began her writing career in 1962
and devoted herself full time to writing in
1973. She began her writing career by publishing
short stories, article, reviews and poetry in
various magazines such as MacLean's,
Chatelaine, the Star Weekly and Saturday
Night. In 1977 she collaborated with
Bernice Morgan and Geraldine Rubia on writing From
this Place, an anthology from women writers
of Newfoundland and Labrador. Between 1975 and
1985 she too an interest in politics and ran for
election with the New Democratic Party four
times. Her 1st novel, January, February, June
of July was published in 1988 and won the
Young Adult Book Award from the Canadian Library
Association in 1989. She taught at Memorial
University in Newfoundland from 1979 through
1991. She worked with the Visiting Arts'
Program where she would visit schools
throughout the province to impart a sense of
literature to school children. She also worked
with projects that put poetry inside public
transit busses not only in Newfoundland but also
in Alberta. She is a founding member of the
Newfoundland Status of Women Council. She
received the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts
Council Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. In
2003 the New Democratic Party of Newfoundland
set up the Helen Fogwill Porter Fund to aid
women seeking to run as an NDP representative.
In 2015 she was inducted in the Order of Canada. |
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May 9 |
Barbara
Ann Scott. Born
May 9, 1928, Ottawa, Ontario Died September 29,
2012,, Amelia Island, Florida, U.S.A. At 10 she
became the youngest skater ever to pass the fold
figures test and the following year she won her
1st Canadian National Junior title. At 15 she
was Canada's Senior National  Champions
holding the tile 1944 through 1946. In
1947 she became the 1st North American to win
the European and World Figure Skating
Championship and
became Canadian Newsmaker of the Year. One of
Canada’s best remembered sports personalities, in 1948
Barbara Ann won the Canadian Figure skating
Championship, the European Championship, and
became the 1st to hold consecutive World
Championships. On
February 2, 1948 , a week before the Olympic
Games, she was on the cover of Time magazine. She
won the gold medal in figure skating in the
Olympic Games of 1948 on an outdoor rink in St
Moritz, Switzerland, the 1st Gold medal in figure
skating for Canada. That
year she was inducted into the Canadian Olympic
Hall of Fame. It
is the only gold won by a Canadian Woman in
figure skating to date (2018). She won the Lou
Marsh Trophy in 1945, 1947,and 1948 as Canada's
top athlete. After the Olympics she toured
North American and British ice shows as the
headliner. February 4, 1952 her story was a
feature in Life magazine. She married
Thomas Van Dyke King in 1955 and the couple
settled in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.. That year
she became a member of the Canada's Sport Hall
of Fame. She opened a beauty salon in Chicago
and became interested in training horses. In the
late 1950's she founded and was chancellor of
the International Academy of Merchandising and
Design in Toronto, Ontario. In
1966 she became a member of the Ottawa Sport
Hall of Fame. In
the 1988 Calgary Olympic Games she was part of a
group to carry the Olympic torch. In 1991 she
was inducted into the Order of Canada the Skate
Canada Hall of Fame. In 2008 the Order of
Ontario. In 1996 the couple retired to Amelia
Island, Florida, U.S.A. In 1997 she entered the
International Women's Sport Hall of Fame and the
Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. The following year
she received a Star on Canada's Walk of Fame in
Toronto, Ontario. She remained involved in
figure skating as a judge promoting her sport
and encouraging many others to partake in the
sport. Beginning in 1949 through 1999 she would
appear as herself in various movies and TV
shows. An area was named for her honour in
Nepean (Ottawa), Ontario. In 2012 the city of
Ottawa created the Barbara Ann Scott Gallery
which displays photographs, her championship
awards, and her gold medal which she donated to
the city in 2011. The Barbara Ann Scott doll
that came out shortly after the games did not
really look too much like the young skater but
it is today a very highly prized collector's
item. |
| |
Pamela
Ann McDougall. Born
May 9, 1925, Ottawa, Ontario. Died October 4,
2015. She earned a Bachelor of Science at Mount
Allison University, and did post graduate
studies at the University of Toronto for her
Master’s in 1946. She began to work as a clerk
at the federal Department of External Affairs in
the Consular Division. By 1952 she had written
the Foreign Service exam and became a Foreign
Service Officer working 1st at the
United Nations in New York City, U.S.A. and
then she was off to Germany serving there from
1953-57 before returning to Ottawa where she
worked on the International Supervisory
Commission for Vietnam. Her job included
extensive traveling before being assigned in
1961-1963 to Delhi, India as 1st secretary
and later counselor. Once again back in Ottawa
she served as Deputy Head of the Far Eastern
Division before she was posted to Warsaw, Poland
where she was the second Canadian woman to
become an Ambassador in January 1968. In 1979
she was appointed as Deputy Minister for Health
and Welfare Canada, the 1st Foreign
Service Officer to be promoted to this level. On
August 27,1980 the Prime Minister named her
Commissioner of the Royal Commission on
Conditions in the Foreign Service mandated to
inquire into changes in the conditions of
foreign service and to report on steps that the
government might take to accommodate them in the
context of its approach to the legal,
administrative and operational frameworks of the
foreign service. She retired from the Government
of Canada in 1981. In retirement she served as a
member of the Board of Governors at Carleton
University, Ottawa and was a Trustee of the
Royal Ottawa Hospital for 5 years. In 1987 she
married Lieutenant Colonel Paul Mayer. Source:
Margaret Weiers, Envoys Extraordinary: Women of
the Canadian Foreign Service (Toronto: Dundurn,
1995) (2018) |
|
May 10 |
Reva Brooks.
Born May 10, 1913, Toronto, Ontario. Died January 24, 2004, San
Miguel de Allende, Mexico.. She had a short
working career as a secretary before she met and
married a young artist Leonard Brooks in 1936.
During World War ll, Leonard was an official
artist with the Canadian Navy. In 1947 the
couple used a veteran Affairs grant to travel to
Mexico for a year to focus on Leonard’s
painting. For the next 50 years, Mexico would
remain their base of operations where they
played a pinnacle role in establishing a world
renounced artist colony at San Miguel de
Allenade. At 34 years of age Reva picked up a
camera and with a natural eye began taking
photos of the people and the countryside in
Mexico. Her works achieved critical acclaim in
the U.S. and Europe. The photographs have
appeared in shows and galleries around the
world. Canada was always a part of their soul
and the couple served as unique cultural
ambassadors for both counties. In 1992 the
formed, at Queen’s University in Kingston,
Ontario, The Leonard and Reva Brooks foundation
to house records of their lives and works. It
also promotes the arts in Canada and funds
scholarships for Mexican students to study
music.
Source suggested: Leonard and
Riva Brooks: a biography of Canadian artists in
exile. By John Virtu, McGill-Queen’s University
Press, 2001. (2021) |
| |
Antonine
Maillet. Born
May 10, 1929, Bouctouche, New Brunswick. In 1950
she earned her Bachelor of Arts from the College
Notre-Dame d'Acadie. She continued her education
by earning her Master's degree from the
Université de Moncton, New Brunswick in 1959.
From 1954 through 1960 she taught literature and
folklore at the college and then she taught for
two years at the University of Moncton. She also
taught at the College de Jésuites
de Québec, the Université Laval, and the
University of Montreal She began writing while
still a Master's student publishing her 1st work
Pointe-aux-Coques in 1958. By
1971 she had earned her PhD in literature from
the Université Laval, Quebec City. She worked
for Radio Canada in Moncton as a scriptwriter
and host. A storyteller supreme, this novelist
is most famous for her French language work La
Sagouine which is rich in Acadian heritage.
This novel has been made into a very popular
one-person play. Linda Evangelista. In 1976
she was inducted as an Officer into the Order of
Canada and was promoted to a Companion of the
Order in 1981.In
1979 her work Pélagie-la-Charrette won the Prix
Goncourt for
the best and most imaginative prose work of the
year, making her the 1st non-European
recipient. In
1980 the Royal Society of Canada presented her
with the Lorne Pierce Medal. Five years later
she was made an Officier des arts et des lettres
de France. In 1992 she became a member of the
Queen's Privy Council allowing her the right to
use the prefix 'The Honourable'.
From 1989 to 2000 she served as chancellor of
the Université de Moncton. In 2005 she received
the Order of New Brunswick.(2019) |
|
May 11 |
Sheila Philip
Cochrane Branford. Born
May 11,1918, Scotland. Died April 20 1984,
Bucklers Hard, Hampshire, England. Sheila
attended schools in Scotland,
 France, and
Germany. In
1941 she married Dr. David Burnford and the
couple had three children and three beloved
family pets that inspired Sheila to write books.
In 1951 the family emigrated to live in Port
Arthur (Now Thunder Bay), Ontario. As an author
she is perhaps best known for her novel about
animals called the Incredible Journey.
The book won the Canadian Library Association
Book of the Year Award and the American Library
Association Aurianne Award in 1963. Although
Sheila wrote the book for adults it was marketed
for children. The book became an immediate
international best seller when it became a Walt
Disney movie. It is a great story about 3
friends, a bull terrier, a golden Labrador and a
Siamese cat who travel over 300 km through
northern Ontario wilderness to return home. It
was remade in 1993 as Homeward Bound: The
Incredible Journey. She also wrote about her
summers in Nunavut on Baffin Island in the
book, One Woman's Arctic published
in 1973.
(2019) |
| |
 Nancy
Greene. Born
May 11, 1943, Ottawa, Ontario. Nancy slapped on
her 1st set of skis when she was just 3 years
old! A skier of determination, Nancy won the
1967
World Cup and dominated the racing scene
the next year as well winning a gold medal in
the giant slalom and a silver medal in the
slalom at the Olympic games as well as her
second World Cup. She was awarded the Order of
Canada in 1967 and named Athlete of the year in
1968. Nancy married Al Raine and the couple
have twin sons. upon retirement she had earned
17 Canadian championships titles and 3 U.S. Ski
Championship titles. She has served as a member
of the Task Force on Canadian Sport for the
federal government She became a member of the
Canadian Sports hall of Fame in 1967. In 1992
she was inducted into the Canadian Ski Hall of
Fame. In 1999 she was named Canada's Female
Athlete of the Century by the Canadian Press. Source:
Nancy Greene, Canadian Sport Hall of Fame.
Online. Accessed march 2004. |
|
May 12 |
Anne
Ottenbrite-Muylaert. Born
May 12, 1966, Bowmanville, Ontario. Anne began
swimming when she was just three years old. In
1982 at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane,
Australia she won gold medals in the 200 Metre
and 4 X 100 Metre medley relay followed with a
silver in the 100 metre breaststroke. The
following year at the Pan-American Games she won
a gold medal in the 100 metre breaststroke and a
silver in the 4 X 100 relay race.In
1982 and again in 1983 Anne was named Female
Swimmer of the Year by Swim Canada. Anne was
the 1st
Canadian woman to win an Olympic gold medal in
swimming. She won the medal in the 1984 Olympic
Games, Los Angeles, U.S.A. in the 200 metre
breaststroke event. At
the same games she won sliver in the 100 metre
breaststroke and played a key role in the 400
metre-medley relay team with Reema Abdo,
Michelle MacPherson and Pamela Rai, that won
bronze. In 1984 she was inducted as a
Member to the Order of Canada and in 1985 she
became a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of
Fame and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. In
1986 she retired from competition and in 1992
she was inducted into the Canadian Aquatic Hall
of Fame followed in 1999 with a membership in
the International Swim Hall of Fame. Anne earned
her Bachelor Degree from the University of
Southern California, Los Angeles, California,
U.S.A. While at U S C she swam for the Trojan
Swim team and diving team. She then earned her
Master's Degree from Wilfrid Laurier University,
Waterloo, Ontario in 1990. In 1991 she promoted
the National Coaching Certification Program in
Zimbabwe and at the 1994 Commonwealth Games she
was named Honorary Team Captain and the
following year she was appointed Team Manager
for the Pan-Pacific Games in Atlanta, Georgia,
U.S.A. 1999-2001 Anne was an Assistant
Coach with the University of Wisconsin, U.S.A.
In 2002 she relocated to Ontario where she has
been a Pickering Swim Club coach becoming Head
Coach in 2011. Anne is married and mother to a
son. A swimming pool in Whitby, Ontario is named
in her honor.
(2019) |
|
May 13 |
Patricia
Beatty. Born
May 13, 1936, Toronto, Ontario. Died November
20, 2020, Toronto, Ontario. Born in Canada, her
early dance training was in the United States at
the Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont,
U.S.A. graduating in 1959. She also attended the
Martha Graham School in New York City, U.S.A.
She worked at both the Connecticut College and
then Juilliard School, New York City, from
1960-1965. She soon brought her talents back to
Canada and founded the New Dance Group of Canada
in 1966 and in 1968 the Toronto Dance Theatre.
She retired in the early 1990's but continued to
give occasional performances. In 2004 she was
inducted as a member of the Order of Canada and
in 2019 she was inducted into the Encore! Dance
Hall of Fame.
(2022) |
|
May 14 |
Marie-Josephite
Corriveau. Born
1733, Saint-Vallier, Quebec. Died on the gallows
April 18(?) 1763. She has become simply known as
La Corriveau. After two trials she was
condemned to death for murdering her second
husband Louis Dodier in January 1763. She was,
as the law provided, hung and her body exposed
in chains. Her body was exposed for about a
month in an iron cage, The cage would be found
in a graveyard in 1850. Writings over the years
drew on the story as a base. These stories
never quite separated facts and fiction. Legends
grew and are still recounted as fantastic
tales. |
| |
Solange
Chaput-Rolland. Born
Montreal, Quebec May 14,1919. Died November 1,
2001, Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac, Masson, Quebec.
Solange attended the Convent d'Outremont for her
early education and then attended the Sorbonne
and the Institut Catholic de Paris in France. In
1941 she married André Rolland. She
began her working Career as a journalist for the
CBC. In 1975 she was inducted as an Officer in
the Order of Canada. Solange served as a member
of the Canadian Task Force on Canadian Unity
which was established in 1977 by the federal
government in response to the election of a
sovereignty-oriented Quebec government. Its
purpose was to gather opinions about the
problems of unity in the country, to publicize
efforts being made to solve those problems
and to advise the government on how to
strengthen national unity. In 1979 she ran
in a by-election. and was elected to the
National Assembly of Quebec. She was not
re-elected in 1981. In 1985 she was inducted as
an Officer in the National Order of Quebec. In
1988 she was appointed to the Canadian Senate
where she served until retiring in 1994. A
she served on the Federal Task Force on Canadian
Unity. Between 1963 and 1996 she wrote 13 books.
(2019) |
| |
Catherine McKinnon. Born
May 14,1944, Saint John, New Brunswick. This
singer and actor began her career on radio at
age eight. By age 12 she had appeared on TV.
After studies at Mount St. Vincent College,
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Catherine appeared on the
CBC TV series Sing-along Jubilee, Don
Messer's Jubilee, and Music Hop. Her 1st and
biggest selling album was entitled Voice of
an Angel, was a collection for folk songs.
Perhaps she is best remembered for the song Farewell
to Nova Scotia. She would also have her own
radio show on the CBC called That McKinnon
Girl. On stage she excelled in musical
productions. March 12, 1969 she married actor
and comedian Don Harron (1924-2015) becoming
step mother to two children. Catherine often
appeared with her husband, until they divorced
in 2003. Catherine continued to record and make
albums until 2007. Catherine was awarded a
Lifetime Achievement Award at the East Coast
Music Awards in 2012. (2019) |
|
May 15 |
Julia
Levy. née Coppens. Born
May 15, 1934, Singapore. Julia's father sent the
family to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1940
where he joined them after being released from a
Japanese prisoner of war camp at the end of
World War ll. Julia enjoyed mathematics in high
schools and was inspired by her grade 11 biology
teacher. Julia studied immunology and
bacteriology earning a Bachelor Degree in 1955
at the University of British Columbia. By 1958
she had earned her doctorate (PhD) in
experimental pathology from the University of
London in England. Returning to British Columbia
she took a position as an assistant professor
and worked her way to become a full professor at
the University of British Columbia. In 1980 she
was elected a Fellow in the Royal Society of
Canada. Together with some university
colleagues, she founded her own drug company,
Quadra Logic Technologies (QLT), dealing with
photodynamic therapy (P T D) which was used for
treating cancer. It was also the 1st medical
treatment of one of the leading causes of
blindness, age-related macular degeneration
(AMD). In 1993 the P T D drug Photofrin became a
recognized treatment for bladder cancer. Julia
served as Chief Scientific Officer for QLT and
from 1995 through 2001 she served as Chief
Executive Officer and President. Recognized for
her contributions to cancer treatments she is
also investigating treatment of diseases such as
arthritis, psoriasis ( a skin disease) and
multiple sclerosis. In 2000 she was named
Pacific Canada Entrepreneur of the Year and the
following year she became an Officer in the
Order of Canada. She has also received the
Future of Vision Award from the Foundation
Fighting Blindness, the Helen Keller Award for
Contributions to Vision and a Lifetime
Achievement Award from the British Columbia
Biotechnology Association. The Chemical
Institute of Canada presents the Julia Levy
Award for successful commercialization of
innovation in the field of biomedical science
and engineering. Julia is married to Edwin Levy
and is proud of her two children and she is also
very proud to have two grandchildren. |
| |
Vivienne Poy. Born
1941. A
fashion designer, entrepreneur and author,
Vivienne is the first Canadian of Chinese
descent to be a member of the Senate of  Canada,
appointed in 1998. She was educated in her
native Hong Kong and England and holds a B.A.,
McGill University, a M.A, & a PhD. from the
University of Toronto, where
she is Chancellor Emeritus. Her extensive
community endeavors include being involved
with cultural and philanthropic causes across
Canada. She is Honourary Co-Chair for the
Campaign for Diversity with the Canadian Centre
for Diversity, Honourary Patron of the Ottawa
Chinatown Gateway Project, and the International
Centre of Winnipeg and remains an active
supporter of many other organizations. She
was instrumental in having May recognized as
Asian Heritage Month in Canada, and serves as
Patron for Asian Heritage Month Societies in
cities across Canada. She was named a
Trailblazer by Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful
Women (Women’s Executive Network), and received
an International Women's Day Award. In
recognition of her international influence, she
has received honourary degrees from universities
around the world. image
Used with Permission |
|
May 16 |
Denise
Filiatrault. Born
May 16, 1932, Montreal, Quebec. An actor,
director and writer, most of her work has been
done in the French language. One of her TV
series, Moi et l'autre, 1967-1971, was
considered the biggest comedy hit in the history
of Quebec TV. Her stage productions earned her
acclaim and awards. In 1982 she earned a Genie
Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a
Supporting Role for her work in The Plouffe
Family (Les Plouffe). Her first film C't' a
ton tour Laura Cadieux was so successful
that it required a sequel, Laura is Back or Laura
Cadieux...la suite! In 1994 she became an
Officer in the Order of Canada and in 2000 she
became an Officer of the National Order of
Quebec. In 1999 she received a Governor
General's Performing Arts Award for her work in
television. In
2002, she produced a new comedy fantasy, L'Odyssée
d'Alice Tremblay. In
2003, taking advantage of the success of her
motion picture characters, Filiatrault produced
a television miniseries for TVA, Le Petit
monde de Laura Cadieux (2003), before
tackling a new film Bittersweet Memories (Ma
vie en cinémascope) in 2004 depicting the
biography of singer Alyse Robi. In 2006 Denise
received a lifetime achievement Jutra Award.
(2019) |
| |
Lucy Slade.
Born May 16,
1972. Died January 14, 2011, Whistler, British
Columbia. Growing up in Ottawa, Lucy spent many
summers at the Rideau Canoe Club doing what she
loved most, sprint racing canoes and kayaks. She
would go on to win four gold, three silver and
eight bronze medals at Canadian championships
from 1987 through 1996. She also held four gold
medals at the 1989 Canada Summer Games in
Saskatoon. . She would wear the championship
purple jersey of the RCC for ten years. In 1991
she was a member of the four – woman kayak
silver medal team at the American Games in Cuba.
She retired from the sport in 1996 and kept in
shape by biking, skiing running. She took a
coaching position with the Cascade Canoe Club
moving to Chelsea, Quebec. In the late 1990’s
she completed university and she and her partner
Andy Ball became parents to twins.
Source:
Paddler remembered for her zest for life by
Carole Hardy-Kavanaugh and Mike Scott Globe and
Mail February 26, 2012.
Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa,
Ontario. (2021) |
|
May 17 |
Anna
Brownell Jameson.
née Murphy. Born 1794, Dublin, Ireland. Died
March 17, 1860. At four years of age her family
migrated to England and settled in London. At 16
she was working as a governess and in 1821 she
became engaged to lawyer Robert Jameson.
However, the engagement was broken off and Anna
went to Italy as a companion to a young student.
She wrote a book hoping to earn enough money to
purchase a guitar. The book was well received
but the Diary of an Ennuyee, published in
1826, became somewhat scandalous when her
identity was discovered. She later decided to
marry Robert Jameson but in 1829 she left for a
position in Dominica and never sent for her to
be with him. That year she wrote the Loves of
the Poets. In 1832 she published Characteristics
of a woman which analyzed heroines of
Shakespeare. Her Husband summoned her to Canada
in 1836 who now resided in Upper Canada (now
Ontario). After landing in New York, U.S.A. she
had to find her won way to Toronto in the middle
of winter. She penned a travelogue of her
journey, Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in
Canada published in 1838. She also traveled into
Indian settlements while in Canada and explored
the settlements along Lake Huron. A well known
author by the time she came to Canada to join
her husband she chronicled her 8 month stay in
her book “Winter Studies and Summer Rambles
in Canada” published in 1838. She
returned to England in 1838 where she continued
to be a successful writer and researcher. (2019) |
| |
Aline Chrètien.
née Châiné.
Born May 17, 1936, Saint-Boniface-de-Shawinigan,
Quebec. Died September 12, 2020, Shawinigan,
Quebec. As a teen s he met a young man on a local
bus and the relationship grew and blossomed. On
September 10, 1957 she married the young up and
coming lawyer, Jean Chrètien (1934 - ), who
would serve as the 20th prime minister of Canada
from 1993-2003.The couple had three children and
an adopted child. Aline is fluent in four
languages and while in her 50’s she began to
take lessons and earn of love of the piano. She
became an active advocate of the Royal
Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She was
extremely bashful often described as having a
quiet elegance. She may have shunned the
limelight during her husband’s political career
but he admitted that she was his confidant and
advisor. He often made jokes to the press about
having to ask his wife first. She was thrust
into the headlines when on November 15, 1995, at
the Prime Minister’s official residence at 24
Sussex Dr., Ottawa, She was laying awake and
while her husband slept she interrupted an armed
intruder by shutting the bedroom door in his
face! She was appointed as the first chancellor
of the bilingual institution, Laurentian
University, in 2010.She presided over
convocation ceremonies, conferred degrees,
advised the president and help promote the
University. Sources:
Ottawa Women; milestones and mentors Online
Accessed July 2012 ; Biography of Aline Chrètien
by Lawrence Martin. (accessed 2012).( 2021) |
|
May 18 |
Rose
Sheinin. née
Shuber. Born May 18, 1930, Toronto, Ontario. Died
March 20, 2009. Rose earned her Bachelor of Arts
in science from the University of Toronto in
1951. That same year she married an engineer,
Joseph Sheinin and the couple had three
children. She continued her education receiving
a Master's Degree in Chemistry in 1953 and a PhD
in Biochemistry in 1956. She
taught at the University of Toronto for 25 years
in the Departments of Microbiology, Medical
Biophysics, and in Microbiology and Parasitology.
She was the Chair of Microbiology and
Parasitology 1975-1981 and became Vice-Dean of
the School of Graduate Studies at the University
of Toronto, 1984-1989. In 1989, she moved to
Montreal when she was appointed Professor in the
Department of Biology and Vice-Rector Academic
at Concordia University. 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. she
was also an internationally respected
researcher, a specialist in cancer research and
DNA replication. For more than 30 years the
Medical Research Council of Canada and the
national Cancer Institute of Canada funded her
research. She had more than one hundred
scholarly publications. She
was also the recipient of the Government of
Canada’s Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal in 1978
and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in
1981. Rose
retired from the administration at Concordia but
continued teaching until she retired in 2000.
(2019) |
| |
Joanna Elizabeth Miller. née Green. Born May 18, 1926, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died
March 21, 2012, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Graduating from the University of British
Columbia in 1948, she met and married Leonard
Miller in June 25, 1949. The couple had of four
children with Joanna a stay at home mom. The
family moved to Saskatchewan in 1961 and Joanna
had a babysitter one day a week which allowed
her time for her active interest in
international issues. She helped with UNICEF
card sales and began to serve on the national
boards of UNICEF and the United Nations. By the
end of the 1970’s she was national president of
the United Nations Association. In 1983 she was
named Saskatoon Woman of the Year for Community
Service. While working with the Project
Ploughshares she was named to the Canadian
Institute for Peace and Security by the
Government of Canada as well as being special
advisor on disarmament to the Canadian
Delegation to the United Nations. 1985 she
received the Muriel Duckworth Award from the
Canadian Advancement of Women Organization. In
1994 she receive a Peace Plaque from the
Canadian Research and Education Association. In
2002 she worked for the Saskatoon first Peace
Conference as a member of the Saskatoon Peace
Coalition. In 2001 she was presented the Global
Citizens Award form the Saskatchewan Council for
International Co-operation. In 2006 she was
presented with the YMCA Peace Medal.
In 2013 Project
Ploughshares Saskatoon and Joanna's family
funded a grant in her memory focusing local,
national or international peace issues.
Sources: Canadian Who’s Who (University
of Toronto, 2005) ; Herstory: an Exhibition.
Women’s Issues. University of Saskatchewan
(accessed October 2011)
(2021) |
|
May 19 |
Susan
'Sue' Holloway. Born
May 19, 1955, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sue
grew up in Ottawa, and represented Ontario at
the Canada Winter Games in 1971 in skiing and
joined both national teams for skiing and
paddling in 1973. In
1975, Sue was the Canadian champion in skiing in
the 5km classic and kayaking in the K1-500 and
6000 metres, K2-500 metres, and K4-500 metres. Sue
was a four time
Olympian competing in 1976 in Cross Country
Skiing and Kayak, 1980 and Kayak again in 1984
where she took Silver and Bronze medals. Sue was
the 1st
woman and 1st Canadian to compete in both Summer
and Winter Olympic Games in the same years, in
the 1976 Winter Olympics and cross-country
skiing and 1976 Summer Olympic in Canoe sprint. In
1979, Sue was the first woman to compete in the
challenging all-male Molokai Hoe Race in Hawaii,
finishing third. Although
Canada withdrew from the Moscow Olympics in 1980
she was the appointed Olympic flag bearer. In
1986 she was inducted into the Canadian Olympic
Hall of Fame. Sue earned a degree in physical
education from Simon Fraser University in
British Columbia. She married former Olympian
Greg Joy in 2002. Sue is an event
planner, world champion dragon boat competitor
and devotes countless hours to coaching cross
country skiing to teach and motivate the next
generation of athletes.(2021) |
|
May 20 |
Eliza
Ritchie. Born
May 20, 1856, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died
September 5, 1935. In 1982, a year after women
were allowed to attend Dalhousie University in
Halifax Eliza began her undergraduate studies.
She studied for three years in the general
program  which
did not provide a degree. She switched in 1886
for a fourth year to obtain a Bachelor of
Letters with first-class honours. By 1889 she
had completed a doctorate (PhD) at Cornell
University, Ithaca, New York, U.S.A. An
educator, feminist and author in 1889 Eliza
received her Ph.D. from Cornell University in
the United States. She
is probably the 1st Canadian woman to have
received a doctor of letters. She
remained in the United States teaching for near
a decade. She then continued her studies in
Leipzig, Germany and at Oxford University in
England. She wrote numerous articles for learned
journals and even published book reviews on
philosophical tests that were written in
Italian, German and French. She volunteered at
the Victoria School of Art and Design in Halifax
and in 1917 she became a member of the Board of
Directors of the school. In 1908
she was a founder member of the Nova Scotia
Museum of Fine Arts and in the late 1920's
served as Vice-President. She was
also a strong supporter of libraries and
especially children's departments in libraries.
She was also suffragette and an active member of
the local Local Council of Women and the
National Council of Women. She served as
President of the Nova Scotia Suffrage league
which was also known a the Nova Scotia Equal
Franchie League. In 1911 she became President of
the Dalhousie Alumnae Association where she
worked to establish the university's 1st womens
residence, Forest Hall where she served warden
in 1912/1913. Her
appointment to the Dalhousie
University Board of Governors in 1919 is also a
1st for Canadian women. She
served two three year terms on the Board. She
was a member of the founding editorial board for
the Dalhousie Review in 1921. Eliza
was the first woman to receive an honorary degree from
Dalhousie. As
part of the celebrations marking 100 years since
the graduation of the first woman from Dalhousie
University (Halifax) in 1985, the Eliza Ritchie
Doctoral Scholarship for Women was established,
and it was fittingly awarded for the first time
in 1987, the centenary of Eliza Ritchie’s
graduation and the 60th anniversary
of her honorary degree. In the same year, a
small university residence named for her was opened. |
| |
Henrietta Hancock Britton.
née
Hancock. Born May 20, 1873, Ealing West England.
Died July 27, 1963, Toronto, Ontario. She
immigrated to Canada with her parents in 1874,
where she lived in both Brandon, Manitoba and
Toronto, Ontario. She trained in art in Toronto
for three years before becoming an apprentice in
the private studio of William Cruickshank. She
taught art at the Bishop Strachan School and
Moulton College in Toronto. In 1901 she studied
painting in Europe for three months. In 1906 she
came to Brandon, Manitoba, and taught at
Brandon College as
Director of Art, where she remained until 1911.
While in Brandon she founded the Brandon Art
Club. In 1911 she went for another year of study
in England, and upon her return she decided to
give up teaching art and devote her time to
painting. While in England she married artist
Harry Britton. After settling in Cornwall for a
number of years the couple returned to Canada,
moving to Toronto in 1914. . Her commissions
include a mural at the Ossington Avenue Church
and one at Scott Mission, both in Toronto.
Britton exhibited with the Royal Canadian
Academy from 1905-1946 and the Art Association
of Montreal in 1945 and 1946. Her works are
owned by several institutions including the
National Gallery of Canada.
Source: Memorable Manitobans Profile by Angela
Graham. online. (accessed December 2011);
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative.
Online (accessed December 2011) (2021) |
|
May 21 |
Linda
Bouchard. Born
May 21, 1957, Val D'Or, Quebec. Linda is a
composer and orchestra conductor was
invited by musical director Trevor Pinnock to
become the 1st composer in residence for the
National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa,
1992-1995. She introduced programs to encourage
public involvement at the NAC and made great
strides in bringing contemporary classical music
to the attention of the audiences. Her first CD
in 1998 Exquisite Fires: Music of Linda Bouchard
was made with the NAC Orchestre. In 1998 she was
honoured as Composer of the year, Camseil
Québécois de la musique. Sources:
Linda Bouchard web site;
Women in Ottawa; Mentors and Milestones (accessed
June 2011.) |
| |
Francis
Marion Beynon.
Born May 21, 1884, Streetsville, Ontario. Died
October 5, 1951, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1879 her
family relocated to farm in Manitoba. She earned
her teacher's certificate and taught near
Carman, Manitoba. In 1909 she and her sister,
Lilian Beynon Thomas (1871-1961), moved to
Winnipeg where she worked for the T. Eaton
Company. From 1912 for five years she was the
editor  of
the women's page of the Grain Growers Guide,
an influential Prairie magazine. Using the pen
name 'Dixie Patton' she also wrote for the
children's pages. A journalist, feminist, and
social reformer she was a determined individual
who wrote of votes for women, marriage and
family structure. She was a pacifist and
resigned her position at the Grain Growers
Guide over views on World War I. She and her
sister helped to found the Quill Club and the
Winnipeg Branch of the Canadian Womens Press
Club that had been founded in 1904. She stood up
for women's suffrage and was one of the
organizers of the Manitoba Political Equality
League. She felt that women should stand on
their own feet and that both husband and wife
should share responsibility for success. In 1917
she moved to New York City, U.S.A. In 1919 she
published a semi-autobiographical novel, Aleta
Day. In New York she and her sister worked
at the Seamen's Church Institute, an
Episcopalian Mission for sailors. 1922-1925
she was the editor of the mission's publication The
Lookout. She used the pen name Ginty
Beynon over the next 25 years writing as a
freelance journalist. She returned to Canada in
1951 just shortly before her death. |
| |
Lori-Ann Muenzer. Born
May 21, 1966, Toronto, Ontario. Although
at 5’10” she is the shortest in her family it
was never a drawback. It seems she was always on
her bicycle. In 1987 she began Road Racing at
the Toronto Cycling Club. In 1994 she embraced
Veledrome Racing and became a member of the
National Cycling Team. She has accumulated 13
National titles and 11 World Cup medals during
her career. She has also earned medal at the
Commonwealth Games in 1998 & 2002. She made her
debut at the Olympics in 200. At the Olympic
Games in Athens in 2004 she became the firs
Canadian to win a gold medal in Cycling.
Selected as the Canada’s Female Athelete of the
year in 2004 she was also the 2005 winner of the
Lois E. Hole Lifetime Achievement Award from the
YWCA. After the 2004 Games she began her own
business called Pure Momentum which seeks to
find and promote a community of female speakers.
She has published her own biography and a
documentary both called One Gear, No Breaks. Nomination
and Information submitted by Wayne Mackenzie. |
|
May 22 |
Clara McCandless
Thomas. Born
May 22, 1919. She would publish as her first
book her, University of Western Ontario, masters
thesis on Canadian Novelists 1920-1945. In 1961
she became a member of the teaching faculty at
York University where she continued until her
retirement in 1984. While teaching she worked on
several critical studies and biographical books
of Canadian writers. She is a member of the
Royal Society of Canada and in 1989 she was
awarded with the Northern Telecom Canadian
Studies International Award for distinguished
Service. |
| |
Doris Witiuk.
née Shero.
Born May 22, 1929, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died
January 26, 2014, Spokane, Washington, U.S.A.
She enjoyed sports and was scouted for the All
American Girls Baseball League to play in 1950
with the Racine Belles and in 1951 with the
Battle Creek Belles. Fellow players nicknamed
her “baser” because of her amazing speed in
rounding the bases. The women wore one piece
short skirted uniforms with knee socks, baseball
shoes and caps. They played a gruelling schedule
to keep baseball going while the men served
during World War ll. In 1953 Baser married her
childhood sweetheart, professional hockey player
Steve Witiuk. The couple would have four
children. In 1962 the family relocated from
Winnipeg to Spokane, Washington, U.S.A. Doris
worked as secretary treasurer for S&W Electric
Inc. for 20 years. November 5,1988 the AAGPBL
was included in the Cooperstown National
Baseball Hall of Fame. 1992, director, Penny
Marshal told their story in the film A league of
Their Own. June 4, 1998 the AAGPBL Canadian
members were inducted into the Canadian Baseball
Hall of Fame. The Manitoba women who played in
the League were also inducted into the Manitoba
Softball Hall of Fame. In her honour the Doris
Shero Witiuk Softball Scholarship was
established at Mead High School, Spokane,
Washington, U.S.A.
Source:
Obituary, Spokesman-Review, Spokane ,
Washington, U.S.A. January 29, 2014.(2021) |
|
May 23 |
Elsie May Gibbons.
née
Thacker. Born May 23, 1903, Ottawa, Ontario. .
Died January 28, 2003, Shawville, Quebec. . On
October 25, 1920 Elsie married George Gibbons
and the couple had one son. Elsie wrote for
local Ontario newspapers including the Pembroke
Observer and the Renfrew Mercury. To help
family finances she did sowing and worked as a
cook or a maid. Their uninsured hose was burned
down and Elsie worked on the Hiram Robinson
steamship as a cook for eleven men. She and her
husband opened a small grocery store in
Portage-du-Fort in 1930. The business picked up
from 1948 through 1953 when a local Ontario
hydro generating station was being built. The
couple even built a restaurant to accommodate
the needs of the 1200 workers. With no bank in
the area she charged 25 cents to cash work
cheques. Elsie became mayor of Portage-du-fort
in May of
1953 becoming the first woman to be elected
mayor of a municipality in Quebec.
In 1956 she sold the family store in 1956.She
served as warden of Pontiac County from 1959
through 1961. She was also an organist for her
Anglican church and served on the Order of the
Eastern Star, the Rebekahs and the Western
Quebec Economic Council. In February 1967 she
became the first woman delegated to the Ottawa
General Anglican Synod. She was a director for a
local home for the aged and was a member of the
Perpetual Care Committee for the Protestant
Community. She lost the mayoral election in 1971
by seven votes. By 1973 she was an elected
councilor and returned to being Mayor from
1975-1977. The Fédération Québecoise des
Municipalités in 2017 the Elsie Gibbons Award
recognizing women's work in municipal politics.
The Archives of Shawville Quebec holds to albums
about her municipal career.
(2022) |
| |
Pauline
Julien. Born
May 23, 1928. This actress, singer, and
songwriter studied drama in Paris, France. She
recorded her first album in 1962. In 1968 she
began to write lyrics for her music. In 1970 she won the
Grand Prix du Disque from France and in 1974 she
received the Prix de Musique Calixa-Lavallée. |
|
May 24 |
Frances
Anne Stewart. née
Browne Born May 24, 1794, Dublin, Ireland. Died
October 24, 1872. She married Thomas Alexander
Stewart on December 16, 1816. When Thomas lost
his job with a bankrupt company the young couple
decided to emigrate to Canada with other family
members. They left Ireland on June 1, 1822
spending seven weeks aboard ship for the
crossing to Canada! A true pioneer to Upper
Canada, she was a diarist and letter
writer. Her letters to home have left us with a
rich insight into early Canadian life of such of
her friends as the Strickland family. Her family
published her writings after her death. Many of
her personal writings are stored in the Archives
at Trent University , Peterborough, Ontario. |
| |
Lorna
Crozier. Bon
May 24,1948, Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Lorna
attended the University of Saskatchewan for her
BA and went on to the University of Alberta to
earn her Master's Degree in 1980. She began her
career as a teacher of English and a guidance counsellor. She published her 1st poem, in Grain magazine.
and taught at the Banff School of Fine Arts in
Alberta, the Saskatchewan Summer School of the
Arts and the Sechelt Summer Writing Festival. In
1983 she was the writer-in-residence at Cypress
Hills Community College and in 1989 at the
Regina Public Library in Saskatchewan and the
University of Toronto. . A poet she has produced
15 collections of poetry. in 1992 her work
earned the Governor General’s Award for Poetry
and the Canadian Author's Association Award for
Poetry. She has won the Gold Medal from the
National Magazine Awards and the 1st prize in
the National CBC Literary Competition. Many of
her works explore traditional myths and
histories. She has also published two works of
Non-fiction. In 2009 she published Small
Beneath the Sky and was made a Fellow in the
Royal Society of Canada. and in 2012 she
published The Book of Marvels: a Compendium
of Everyday Things. In 2011 she was inducted
as an Officer in the Order of Canada. She has
also been recognized by the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Land
Conservatory of British Columbia. She has read
her poetry on every continent save Antarctica! |
|
May 25 |
Phyllis
Fay Gotlieb. née
Bloom. Born
May 25, 1926, Toronto, Ontario. Died July 14,
2009, Toronto, Ontario . She attended Victoria
College for her B.A. in 1948 and she earned her
M.A. in 1950 from University College, University
of Toronto. She married computer scientist
Calvin 'Kelly' Gotlieb (1921-2016). She was a
prolific author including six volumes of
poetry, five verse plays and several science
fiction stories and 13 full novels in the
1960's,1970’s and 1980’s. Her 1982 novel, A
Judgment of Dragons won the Prix Aurora
Award for best novel in Science Fiction and
Fantasy. In 2001 the new Starburst Award, given
annually for speculative fiction in named in
honor of her 1st book, Sunburst published
in 1964. She married a computer science
professor Calvin Gotlieb (1921-2016). Source:
Jewish women’s Archive. Personal information
for Phyllis Gotlieb
(Accessed June 2013) ; The Canadian Encyclopedia
online (accessed March 2013) |
| |
Nicole
Luiken. Born
May 25, 1971. It was not until the summer
between grades seven and eight that she read
Guide to Fiction writing and began to take her
writing seriously. She began a regimen of
writing regularly, one hour per day that grew to
three hours each evening. She pounded out eleven
books in four years, two are now in print. One
is a great ghost story that may be borrowed
through your own library. |
|
May 26 |
Muriel
McQueen Fergusson. Born
May 26, 1899. Died April 11, 1997. After her
husband's death she took over his law practice.
She worked to have women recognized as possible
appointees to government positions. She was one
of the early women senators and is credited with
pushing the government o revise the Criminal
Code so women could sit on juries in criminal
cases. Women could now plead rape charges with
women on the jury! |
| |
Teresa
Stratas. née
Anastasia Stratakis. Born May 26, 1938, Oshawa,
Ontario. As she entered her teens Teresa was
performing Greek songs on the radio. She
attended the Royal Conservatory of Music,
Toronto and made her professional opera debut
in La
bohème
at the Toronto Opera Festival when she was 20.
In 1959 she was the co-winner of the
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
and appeared that year at the Metropolitan Opera
in New York City, New York, U.S.A. In 1961 she
was appearing at the Royal Opera House, Covent
Garden, in England. Teresa began her singing
career by singing Greek pop songs. Her
beautiful soprano voice has been heard all over
the world and she is considered one of the
foremost singing actors of the 20th century. In
1972 She was inducted into the Order of
Canada. The Canadian Music Council named her
artist of the year in 1980. She won Grammy
Awards for Best Opera Recording and for Best
Classical Album in 1981 and again in 1984. In
1987 she was given the Drama Desk Award for
Outstanding Actress. In 2000 she earned the
Governor General's Performing Arts Award. In
2001 she was given a Star on Canada's Walk of
Fame in Toronto. (2018) |
| |
Lucille
Lessard. Born
May 26,1957, Quebec City, Quebec. Introduced to
the sport of archery by her schoolteachers she
became a devoted competitor. In 1972 she was the
Canadian junior Champion in Outdoor Field
Archery followed in 1973 with winning the
National Target Outdoor Junior Championship.
She won her 1st National Outdoor Senior
Championship in 1974 at just 17 years of age and
successfully defended her title in 1975 and
1980. In
1974 she became the 1st Canadian to win the
World Field Archery Championships, she
was the youngest world Champion in Archery up to
this point in time in time. Field archery means
competitor face targets at unknown distances on
varied terrain. That same year she was top
female athlete in Quebec and winning the Elaine
Tanner Award as Canada's Junior Athlete of the
Tear. She
also won the Canadian National Indoor
championship in 1975 and 1976. In 1977 she was
inducted into Canada's Sport Hall of Fame. She
won a spot on the Canadian team for the 1980
Olympics but Canada boycotted the Moscow games. |
|
May 27 |
Francess
Georgina Halpenny. Born
May 27, 1919, Ottawa, Ontario. Died December 25,
2017 Ottawa, Ontario. In 1941 she earned her
Master's degree in English language from the
University of Toronto. With the war storming
over Europe she decided not to continue her
education as she would have liked and signed up
with the Royal Canadian Air Force. After the War
she became known for her energetic and
courageous editor working as head of the
editorial department at the University of
Toronto Press from 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 from 1972-1978. She was
awarded the Molson Prize in 1983 and inducted as
an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1979 and
promoted to a companion of the Order of Canada
in 1983 while she was serving as President of
the Royal Society of Canada. . She received the
University of Toronto Faculty Award in 1985 and
the University of British Columbia Medal for
Canadian Biography in 1986. She was presented
with the Governor General's Commemorative Medal
for the 125th anniversary of Confederation in
1992. She has also received 11 honorary degrees
from various Canadian universities including the
University of Guelph in 1969 when this librarian
and web page writer remembers her speaking at
her graduation ceremony. In 2013 she decided to
enter the Sunnybrook Veterans Wing for long term
care in Toronto. |
|
May 28 |
Annette (1934-
) ,
Emilie (1934-1954),
Yvonne (1934-2001), Cécile (1934-
), and
Marie (1934-1970) Dionne all
share the same birthd ay May 28, 1934, Corbeil,
Ontario. They were the only known-surviving quintuplets in the world at the time of their
birth. While they were
young they were wards of the provincial
government of Ontario and
their life in their
nursery had special viewing areas for the public
who flocked to see these little miracles. Most
of their youth they were exploited. They were
even taken to Hollywood where they would do
commercials for products. In 1965 the remaining
four sisters published their story in the book We
Were Five. Three of the sisters would marry
but their marriages did not survive and they
returned to living with one another in
Montreal. |
| |
Lynn Johnston. Born
May 28, 1947, Collingwood, Ontario. Lynn grew up
in North Vancouver British Columbia and studied
at the Vancouver School of art, now the Emily
Carr University of Art and Design. In 1969 she
married and the couple relocated back to Ontario
where she worked as a medical artist at the
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.
Pregnant with her 1st child she presented her
obstetrician with drawings which he could place
on his otherwise boring ceiling. These drawings
were the bas of her 1st boo, David We're
Pregnant in 1973. After her divorce she
published Hi Mom! Hi Dad! in 1975. She then
married dentist Rod Johnston and the family
relocated to the remote community of Lynn Lake,
Manitoba. When she submitted panels for a comic
strip to the Universal Press Syndicate she was
offered a 20 year contract. For Better For Worse
was a Canadian hit and was carried by about 2000
newspapers internationally. The storyline and
the characters lead real lives with friends
admitting to being gay and the family dog dies
after rescuing a child. Lynn continued to work
from her home in Corbeil, Northern Ontario. She
became the first woman to win the Reuben Award
for outstanding cartoonist of the year in 1985
from the national Cartoonist Society In 1987 she
earned a Gemini Award for Best Cartoon Series
and in
1988 she became the 1st woman to be president of
the Cartoonist Society. In
1991 she received the National Cartoonist
Society Newspaper Comic Strip Award. She was
appointed to the Order of Canada in 1992 and
nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for the
story o Lawrence's coming out. in 2001 she was
the winner of the Comic of the Year, Editor and
Publisher. In 2003 she was honoured with a Star
on Canada's Walk of Fame, Toronto. In 2007 she
was inducted into the Order of Manitoba and she
and her husband became separated. In 2008 she
was inducted into the Canadian Cartoonist Hall
of Fame and the National Cartoon Museum Hall of
Fame. In 2015 she relocated back to North
Vancouver. The Library and Archives Canada holds
a large collection of her
original works. Now semi retired she continues
her comic strip in newspapers using a mixture of
new and older stories. |
|
May 29
|
Beatrice Gladys Lillie. Born
May 29, 1894, Toronto, Ontario. Died January 20,
1989, Henley-on-Thames, England. Bea began
entertaining in Ontario towns on stage with her
mother, Lucy and sister, Muriel (1893-1973). In
1914 she made her London, England, West End
debut and soon gained notice. January 20, 1920
she married Sir Robert Peel (1898-1937) and
became Lady Peel. The couple had one child. The
family's Baronet title brought no money with it
and the family lived on Bea's earnings. She made
her New York City, U.S.A. debut in 1924 and
within two years she had starred in her first
film. She had a sweet voice and when singing she
would add jokes between her songs until she was
better known for the jokes than her music. She
would become known as the “Funniest woman in the
world.” During World War ll (1939-1945) she was
a welcomed entertainer for the troops. Sadly her
only child, 6th Baronet was killed in action in
1942. In 1948 she met John Philip Huck who
became a friend and companion. She won a Tony in
1953 for her revue An Evening with Beatrice
Lillie. She made her last Broadway appearance in
1964 in High Spirits and her last of her seven
films, Thoroughly Modern Millie in 1967. Her
companion Philip Huck died the next day of a
heart attack and the two were buried together.
Source: Canadian Encyclopedia,
online (accessed June 2003) |
| |
Esther Marjorie Hill. Born
May 29,1895, Guelph, Ontario. Died January
7,1985. Esther earned her BA at the University
of Alberta in 1916. In
1920 this Canadian architect was the 1st woman
to enter into and graduate from this profession. This
was the era of women's suffrage and it was a
tough time for women in male dominated
professions. She encountered considerable
discrimination both during her studies and while
attempting to work as a professional architect.
She had problems finding a job and her
application to be a registered architect was
denied and only accepted after legislative
changes forced acceptance. In 1922 she took
classes in Urban Planning at the University of
Toronto and then studied at Columbia University,
New York City, U.S.A. In
1925 she was accepted into the Alberta
Association of Architects becoming the 1st
Canadian woman to be a registered architect. She
survived the depression years with her own
resourceful talents by selling handmade gloves
and handmade greeting cards. In 1936 she
relocated to Victoria, British Columbia. In
1942 she won 1st prize for her weaving at the
Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. After
World War ll she opened her own architectural
firm. In 1953 she joined the Architectural
Institute of British Columbia and worked on city
planning until to 1958. She would go on to
become a prolific and valued member of her
chosen profession. She retired in 1963. |
| |
Eleanor Coerr.
Born
May 29, 1922, Kamsack, Saskatchewan. Died
California November 22, 2010, New York City,
U.S.A.. One of her best friends in school was
daughter of Japanese immigrants and Eleanor
learned to enjoy origami and Japanese food. She
married a U.S. Air Force officer but retained
her independence. In 1949 she was the only
person who applied to the Ottawa Journal
newspaper to be a foreign correspondent to
describe conditions in postwar Japan. Since
there were no civilian ships nor planes to Japan
at that time she sail on A Dutch freighter to
take up her new job. She lived with a Japanese
farm family in the middle of nowhere prior to
moving to Hiroshima. The she was unprepared for
the devastation she saw. In the 1950’s she
became of mother to two sons, one born in Japan
and the second in Alabama. She continued her
writing while traveling to postings with her
husband in California, The Philippines, and
Taiwan. Returning to Hiroshima, Japan in 1963
she was enthralled and mesmerized with the
beautiful Pease Park with the statue with a
young girl at the top. The monies to build the
park had been raised in part by selling the
story of the youth on the statue, Sadako.
Eventually Eleanor found the story of the youth
Sadako and the book Sadako and the Thousand
Paper Cranes was published in 1977. The book
spawned web sites, lesson plans, and popularized
origami. The story inspired works of music,
theatre and ballet. As Eleanor entered her
second marriage to Wymberly de Renne Coerr
(1913-1996), the couple traveled as diplomats.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from
American University and a Masters of Library
Science from the University of Maryland. She
went on to publish several dozen books for youth
including biographies, easy to read adventure
tales, and sensitive accounts of children from
other cultures.
Sources: “Eleanor Coerr…”.School
Library Journal November 30, 2010 ;
Ewing-Weisz, Chris “Visits to Hiroshima prompted
a book promoting peace” The Globe and Mail
October 21, 2011 Page R 9
.
Suggestion submitted by June
Coxon, Ottawa |
|
May 30 |
Ruta
Lee. née
Kilmonis. Born May 30,1936, Montreal, Quebec. In
1948 she moved to Los Angeles, California,
U.S.A. where she studied at Hollywood High
School and Los Angeles City College and the
University of California. Her 1st TV appearance
was as a guest on the George Burns and Gracie
Allen show and then the Roy Rogers Show. This
actress began her career in films in 1954 in Seven
Brides for Seven Brothers. She has mainly
appeared in lesser-known films such as Pterodactyl
Women from Beverly Hills. She also continued
to appear in numerous TV shows and was popular
on TV western and TV detective shows. She made
regular appearances on Game shows such as Hollywood
Squares. In 1974 she hosted the show High
Rollers for two years. In 1976 she married
Webster B. 'Webb' Lowe Jr., a restaurant
executive. During the 1980's she did voice for
cartoon shows such as the Flintstones and
the Smurfs. Turning to the live stage she
performed extensively in such musicals as Peter
Pan. In the 1990's she once again did numerous
guest appearances on TV .In 1995 a Golden Palm
Star was placed for her on the Palm Springs Walk
of Stars. In 2002 she earned a Golden Boot
Award for her work on western TV shows. In 2006
she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame. In the 2000's she once again took to stage
work. On August 24 she was inducted into the
National Lithuanian American Hall of Fame. |
| |
Claudia Joan Alexander.
Born May 30,
1959, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died July 11,
2015, Arcadia, California, U.S.A. Claudia was
raised in California, where her father was a
social worker and her mother worked as a
librarian. Died July 11, 2015, Arcadia,
California, U.S.A. As a youth she attended a
high-school summer internship at NASA. After
attending and graduation from the Berkley and
went on to earn her Master’s degree at the
University of California, Los Angeles She
joined the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration after earning her doctorate in
plasma physics from the University of Michigan.
As a Black woman working in a largely man’s work
field she was used to surviving in two different
cultures. To her loving her work was important.
She was project manager of the 14 year 1.5
billion dollar U.S. Galileo mission which ended
in 2003. In 2015 she was the project scientist
for NASA on the European Space Agency’s Rosetta
Project which marked the 1st time a spacecraft
rendezvoused with a comet. As may be expected
she authored numerous research papers but it
should be noted that she also wrote books for
children including publications in the Windows
to Adventure series helping children to have fun
with science.
Source: Sam Roberts Trailblazer Lead Nasa
Mission to Jupiter. Globe and Mail, July
21, 2015. Suggestion
submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario.
|
|
May 31 |
Sophie/Sophia Margaretta/Margaret Almon
Hensley. née
Almon. Born May 31, 1866, Bridgetown, Nova
Scotia. Died February 10, 1946, Annapolis Royal,
Nova Scotia. Sophia was educated at home and
then travelled abroad to England and France for
additional studies. This author and lecturer
wrote of her interest in women’s issues and
social tolerance. She wrote periodical articles
which appeared in The Week, The King's
College Record, the Dominion Illustrated Monthly
and The Current. Her 1st collection of poems
appeared in April 1889 and was simply titled, Poems.
On April 25, 1889 she married a barrister,
Hubert Arthur Hensley. and in 1890 the couple
settled in New York City, U.S.A. The couple had
three children. In 1895 she published her second
volume of poems, A Woman's Love Letters. She
lectured on literary topics, went on to write a
novelette and a musical play the was done in
collaboration with her husband and three more
collections of poems. . She not only wrote
under her own name but also used the pen name of
Gordon Hart, J. Try Davies, and Almon Hensley.
As Almond Hensley she served as secretary for
the New York State Assembly of Mothers and was
co-founder and vice-president of the New York
City Mother's Club and founding president of the
Society for the Study of Life,. She was a member
of the New York Press Club and served as
associate editor of the magazine; Health; a
Home Magazine Dedicated to Physical Culture and
Hygiene. She maintained a summer home in
Nova Scotia and in 1937 relocated to the channel
island of Jersey, where she was forced to leave
during the 1940 invasion by the Nazis. She then
returned home to Windsor, Nova Scotia. |
| |
Margaret
Agnes Todd.
née
Sutcliffe. Born May 31, 1918, Montreal, Quebec.
Died July 15, 2019, Victoria, British Columbia
Margaret's home golf club was the Victoria Golf
Club, Victoria, British Columbia. She married
Jack Todd in the mid 1930's and the couple would
have three children. In 1939 she won her 1st
club championship a title she would earn 14
times. In 1940 she won the Victoria and District
top tile and she would claim this ten times. She
won a total of three British Columbia Ladies
Amateur Golf tournaments from 1947-1949 and went
on to win two Senior Ladies national titles. She
was a member of the 1st Canadian team to Great
Britain. She served in the Canadian Ladies Golf
Association (CLGA) in various capacities
including the National Director of Rules in
1984-1986. She was the Commonwealth and World
Amateur Delegate in 1964, 1970, 1984 and 1992.
In 1989 she was Director of the British Columbia
Golf Museum. She was inducted into the British
Columbia Sports Hall of Fame in 1974, Canadian
Golf Hall of Fame in 1996, and the British
Columbia Golf Hall of Fame in 2001.
In 2010 Margaret
donated $100,000. 00 to her alma mater, the
University of Victoria, for the creation of the
Jack and Margaret Todd Women's Golf Award, an
annual athletic scholarship.
Source: Obituary. Golf Canada. (accessed 2019)
(2020) |
|
