Famous Canadian Women's Historic Timeline - 1940-1949

Return to Timeline introduction

1940 AD to 1949 AD
Events listed relate to Canadian women with a few extra items added to give the timeline perspective.

This timeline is not all inclusive.

The timeline was fun to prepare and hopefully it will be fun to read. Perhaps it will even be useful.

Events listed are drawn from various sources including those listed on other areas of http://famouscanadianwomen.com

If you wish more information on the women listed in this timeline be sure and check out the birthdays listed in
"Do you share a birthday with a famous Canadian woman?"

LAST UPDATED March 2008

DATES	EVENTS
1940	January - first marriage between a British woman and a Canadian serviceman was celebrated at Farnborough Church in the Aldershot area of England. Some 48,000 such marriages followed over the next six years. These marriages formed part of a most unique immigration movement in Canada. This generation of women, many with infants, mostly British, these war brides are an important part of Canadian history that has gone relatively unnoticed by historians and journalists. As the women approach their senior years, they are just beginning to tell their stories. Source : Canadian War Brides http://canadianwarbrides.com (accessed May 20, 2005) April 25 - Québec women win the rights to vote and run for office in provincial elections. Canadian General Electric's Fred Moffatt invents the electric kettle. Source : Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas : women of the Great White North by Ann Douglas Toronto, McArthur and Co., 2002. pg 17. Ethel Stark (1916?- ) founds the Montreal Women's Symphony. Although denied even the most basic financial assistance, the Montreal Women's Symphony continued to perform until the late 1960s. Tillie Hosken of Toronto is the first woman to bowl a score of 450 in 5-pin bowling. Source: 5-pin Bowling History http://www.cvnet.net/burnstd/ (accessed May4, 2005.) Artist Emily Carr (1871-1945) publishes Klee Wyck which wins the Governor's General Award in literature. Source: Important moments in Canadian History http;;/www.ouc.bc.ca/flar/timeline ( accessed May 2002) Births: Born Ann Conner Brimer (1940-1988) educator and promoter of books for children. February 15 - Born Marilyn Edythe Broughton, educator musician and composer. April 6 - Born Maria Campbell, author of books and screenplays. September 19 - Born Sylvia Tyson (1940 - ) folk and country music singer. Deaths: March 9 - Died Agnes Elizabeth Wetherald (1857-1940) Freelance journalist. March 18 - Died Maud Abbott (1869-1940) internationally acclaimed medical doctor who specialized in the study of heart disease. September 12 - Died Annie Mackinnon Fitch (1868-1940) noted mathematician.
1941	Legislation is changed to allow women to enlist in the Canadian army. July 2- The Canadian Women's Army Corps is formed *Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia. Women in the Military.* Http: www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com July 31 - The Royal Canadian Navy, Women's Division are formed. Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia. Women in the Military. Http: www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com Jessie Gray ( -1978) is the first Canadian woman to become a "fellow" in the Royal College of Surgeons and the first woman member of the Central Surgical Society of North America. Births: February 20 - Born Buffy Sainte-Marie, folk singer and social activist for Native Peoples. March 9 - Born Donna Arlene Chow, A research scientist with an interest to recognizing women's work in her field. April 14 - Born Nina Raginsky, photographer. April 29 - Born Paula Ross, international prima ballerina. May 15 - Born Vivienne Poy, Senator. May 21 - Born Lise Boucher, award winning pianist. September 1 - Born Gwendolyn MacEwen award winning poet. Deaths: Died Gertrude E. Cutts (1858-1941) well known artist. February 20 - Died Mary Travers (La Bolduc) (1894-1941) popular vocalist and composer of her era. March 31 -** Died Marguerete Martha Allan (1895-1942) amateur dramatist.
1942	The Women's Royal Canadian Navel Service (WRENS) is established. ource: The Canadian Encyclopedia. Women in the Military. Http: www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com October 2 - Marion Orr (1918-1995) is the first Canadian woman to operate a flying club when she is hired as Manager and Chief Flying Instructor by the St Catherines Flying club. Source: Marion Orr. http://www.canadian99s.org (accessed August 16, 2005) *Emily Carr* (1871-1945) at 71 wins the Governor General's Award in literature for her first book, Klee Wyck. Births: Born Sandra Louise Birdsell, novelist. Born Sandra Tewksbury (1942-1962) Olympic figure skater. January 6 - Born Nancy Ruth, Canada's first feminist philanthropist. February 5 - Born Gail Fox. Poet and editor February 21 - Born Lenka J. Husa, veterinarian and educator. March 3 - Born Menaka Thakkar classical dancer who has received awards in Canada and India. March 6 - Born Irene F. Whittome , award winning sculptor April 16 - Born Linda Crabtree ( 1942- ) founder of CMT International April 26 - Born Sharon Carstairs, member of the Canadian Senate. June 21 - Born Jeannette Vivian Lavell, a courageous woman who fought to improve the status of aboriginal women. July 1- Born Genevieve Bujold, actress. July 27 - Born Edith Butler, Acadian singer and appointee to the Order of Canada. September 22 - Born Gail Bowen, author of mysteries and adventure novels for young readers. November 12 - Born Janet Turner Hospital, author. Deaths: Died Rosalind Goforth (1864-1942) author. May 27 - Died Mary Sollace Saxe (1868-1942) librarian Westmount Public Library, author. and playwright. October 6 - Died Ella Cora Hind, (1861-1942) first woman journalist in the Canadian west and women's rights activist.
1943	January 3 - Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680) is declared venerable ( a stage to being declared a Saint in the Roman Catholic Church) by Pope Pius Xll. She is the first Native American woman and the first North-American lay-woman considered for sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church. Monique Leyrac (1928- ) using her natural gifts of music and drama starts her acting career on radio. She is the first great international star from French Canada. Births: Born Sally Armstrong, acclaimed award winning journalist, author and documentary film maker. January 19 - Born Allison Ruth Gordon, journalist and author. May 11 - Born Nancy Green, international champion skier who has been awarded the Order of Canada. June 18 - Jill Bodkin, business woman and financial leader. October 1 - Born Angèle Arsenault Acadian fold music writer and performer. November 3 - Born Paule Gauthier (1943- ) Lawyer and public servant, Officer of the Order of Canada. November 25 - Born Evelyn Merle Nelson (1943-1987) renownd mathematician. Deaths: February 22 - Died Virna Sheard (1865-1943) poet and short storey writer. March 11 - Died Emily Poynton Weaver (1865-1943) Historian and author. September 25 - Died Augusta Stowe-Gullen Mount Pleasant, Canada West (1957- 1943) the first woman to graduate in medicine from a Canadian university. November - Died Minna Keen (1861-1943) pioneer photographer.
1944	June 6 - Allied units, including those from Canada land in Normandy beaches on D-Day. August - The federal Family Allowance Act is passed. September - a teacher shortage in the Canadian prairies means that more than 500 small schools cannot open. Source: The Timechart of Canadian history by Meredith Macardle (2004) Tommy Douglas leads the CCF Party to victory in Saskatchewan provincial elections, they form the first socialist government in North America. Portia White (1911-1968) is the first black Canadian woman to appear in the New York Town Hall, where she was touted as the “Canadian Marion Anderson”. Rhona Wurtele-Gillis and Rhonda Wurtele-Eaves (1922- ) champion swimmers, were Female Athletes of the year. Source: Who's Who in Canadian Sport, Bob Ferguson Scarborough, Prentice Hall, 1977 pg. 292. Prenatal courses are introduced. The Victorian Order of Nurses, the Visiting Homemakers and public health departments across Canada start to offer pregnancy and childbirth preparation classes to mothers-to-be. Source : Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas : women of the Great White North by Ann Douglas Toronto, McArthur and Co., 2002. Births: Born Ginette Anfousse (1944- ) illustrator and author of the children's series Mon Ami Pichou. February 11 - Born Annette av Paul , prima ballerina. February 17 - Born Marjorie Griffin Cohen, Professor and economist. February 21 - Born Louise Beaulac-Baillargeon educator, Pharmacologist and scientist. May 14 - Born Catherine McKinnon, singer. August 14 - Born Raynell Andrechuk., judge , ambassador and member of Senate of Canada. October 4- Born Madeline Hombert (1944- ) independent film producer and community volunteer. October 12 - Born Joan Fraser award winning journalist and editor. Deaths: September 27 - Died Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944) founder of the Four Square Gospel Church. September 28 - Died Louise Bowman (1882-1944) poet.
1945	May 5 - World War ll European hostilities cease. June 20 - The first family allowance payments , the baby bonus, payments are sent out. June 26 - Canada joins the United Nations. The Charter of the United Nations, was the first international agreement to proclaim gender equality as a fundamental human right. Since then, the Organization has helped create a historic legacy of internationally agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide. By the end of the war some 45,423 women have enlisted in the armed forces providing support functions for the war effort. Source: The Timechart history of Canada by Meredith Macardle (2004) *Dr Lotta Hitschmanova* (1909-1990) *founds the Unitarian Service Committee, Canada's first overseas relief and development agency. Source: USC Canada proposal to the Royal Canadian Mint* (Ottawa, 2005) Gwethalyn Graham** (1913- ) publishes her novel, Earth and High Heaven, which is the first Canadian novel to top the American bestseller list. Births: Born Rita Deverell (1945- ) Hall of Fame Broadcaster Born Carole Taylor (1945- ) Hall of fame broadcaster. Born Judy Rebick, journalist and social activist. January 15 - Born Bonnie Burnard (1945- ) award winning author. February 2 - Born Pauline Vaillancourt Arvida [Jonquière] Quebec . A soprano who founded Chants Libres. February 7 - Born Colette Whiten (1945- ) sculptor March 27 - Born Anna Mae Aquash (1945-1976) Social activist on behalf of Aboriginal North Americans. June 8 - Born Bronwyn Deborah Anne Drainie (1845- ) broadcast journalist. June 20 - Born Anne Murray, award winning popular singer. July 6 - Born Rosemary Forsyth, actress. October 20 - Born Jo-Ellen Bogart (1945 - ) author. December 4- Born Roberta Lynn Bondar, Canada's first woman in space. Deaths: January 17 - Died Lorrie Alfreda Dunnington-Grubb (1877-1945) pioneer in the profession of landscape architecture. April 1 - Died Mabel Annesley Johnston (1870-1945) author November 1 - Died Marie Gerin-Lajoie (1867-1945) champion of women's rights in Quebec.
1946	The women's sections of all three Canadian armed service branches are disbanded. Source: Women in the Military. The Canadian Encyclopedia Online http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com November 8 - *Viola Desmond* (1914 - ) was arrested in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia when she sat in the downstairs seating instead of the balcony where Blacks were forced to sit in the segregated Roseland Theatre. This event tool place several years before Rosa Parks took her seat on the front of a bus in the United States! More information: Historica: Black history http://blackhistorycanada.ca/timeline.php?id=1900 (Accessed March 2007) The Ontario Teachers Federation approves the principle of equal pay for men and women teachers. Source: Canadian Chronology Http://tdi.uregina.ca/~maguirec/chron.html (accessed April 28, 2003) Winnie Roach-Leuszler (1926-2004) internationally acclaimed swimmer is the first woman to be hired by the YMCA to set up programmes swimming instruction and coaching. *Winnie Raoch-Leuszler* (1926-2004) wins the 5 mile World Swimming Championship in Toronto when she is 3 months pregnant Freda Farrell Waldon (1898-1973) is the first president of the Canadian Library Association in 1946. Earle Tupperware invents Tupperware. The parties come later. Source : Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas : women of the Great White North by Ann Douglas Toronto, McArthur and Co., 2002. p. 16 Births: February 6 - Born Kate McGarrigle. Singer and recipient of the order of Canada. February 28 - Born Med Luxton , author and feminist, co-founder of the of the Women's Studies Programme at the University of Toronto. March 26 - Born Phyllis Marion Boyd, the first woman and first non lawyer to become Attorney-General in the Province of Ontario April 26 - Born Janis G. Johnson, appointed to the Canadian Senate 1990. April 28 - Born Ginette Reno ( 1946- ) chanteuse who holds the hearts of her fans across the country May 3- Born Karen G. Adams (1946- ) Librarian administrator. July 1 - Born Rosalie Abella, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. August 18 - Born Joan M. Boggs, Senior Scientist Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. September 23 - Born Anne Wheeler, actress, filmmaker, producer, director and writer. September 29 - Born Laurie Dennett, author and humanitarian. Deaths: February 10 - Died Sophia Margaretta Hensley (1866-1946) author, lecturer and social activist who wrote under male pen names. November 17 - Died Henriette Saint-Jacques (1860-1946) Journalist and author of several books.
1947	January 1 - The Canada Citizenship act comes into effect creating for the first time "Canadian citizens" instead of British subjects. Prime Minister Mackenzie King is given the first citizenship certificate. October 22 - the Montreal Women's Symphony, an ensemble of 80 women under conductor Ethel Stark (1916?- ) performed at the renowned Carnegie Hall in New York-the first Canadian symphony orchestra to achieve this. General electric invents the automatic electric clothes washer. Source : Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas : women of the Great White North by Ann Douglas Toronto, McArthur and Co., 2002. pg 17 Former British colonies form the British Commonwealth of Nations with Great Britain. Births: Born Maude Victoria Barlow, social activist and "voice of dissent". Born Ann Blades, illustrator and author of books for children. January 15 - Born Victoria Tennant Born London, England, Prima ballerina of the National Ballet of Canada. January 15 - Born Andrea Martin. Born Portland, Maine, USA . Emmy award winning actress. February 3 - Born Marlene Philip, Born Moriah, Tobago. Poet and author of novels for young adult readers. February 7 - Born Frances Elaine Aboud, educator and author. February 10 - Born Louise Arbour, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. February 11 - Born Abigail Hoffman a former Olympian athlete and champion of athlete's rights. March 10 - Born Kim Campbell, politician and first woman to become Prime Minister of Canada. March 13 - Born Judith Rose Marcuse, prima ballerina. May 28 - Born Lynn Johnson, award winning cartoonist and comic strip artist. June 27 - Born Vicki Lynn Bardon, business woman, founder of Shuttles and Seawind. June 19 - Born Helen Chan, physician at the Hospital for Sick Children and professor at the University of Toronto. July 13 - Born Rosella Marie Bjornson (1947- ) career pioneer in aviation. August 9 - Born Henriette Schellenberg (1947 - ) soprano August 24 - Born Linda Hutcheon, Author, editor and art critic. October 7 - Born Judy Sams, award winning golfer. Deaths: Died Louise Duffield Cummings - (1870-1947) renownd mathematician. January 11 - Died Tanguay (1879-1947) vaudevillian and movie star who in 1912 was the highest paid woman actor in the US. February 15 - Died Margaret Marshall Saunders (1861-1947) author of the first Canadian book to sell a million copies. March 19 - Died Prudence Heward (1896-1947) acclaimed figure painter.
1948	January - Mary Pickford (1892-1979) holds the premier of her movie Sleep my love in Ottawa Canada. She dines with prime Minister W. L. M. King the evening of the premier. Source: 100 Canadian women : famous and forgotten faces by Merna Forster Toronto, Dundurn Press, 2004 pg 207. February 6 - *Barbara Ann Scott* (1928- ) wins Canada's first gold medal in ladies' figure skating at the Winter Olympics in St Moritz, Switzerland. Barbara Ann Scott (1928- ) is the first Canadian woman to win the World Figure Skating championships. Ruth Bailey and Gwennyth Barton were the first black women to graduate from a Canadian school of nursing. Source: Black History Month http://cyberus.ca/~acdas/bhm1a.html (accessed May 2005) Births: Born Jeanette Armstrong, author Born Marie-Jeanne Bartleman (1948- ) political wife of James Bartleman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Born Diane Dupuy, (1948- ) founder of the Famous People Players, a black light theatre group of young developmentally youth. Born Charlotte Gray (1948- ) award winning author of popular history works. February 29 - Born Yolande Racine, art history researcher, archivist, curator and educator. March 4 - Born Joanna Ruth Nichols (1948- ) author of books for children April 6 - Born Margaret Gibson, award winning author. April 26 - Born Erika Ritter (1948- ) playwright, writer and broadcaster with the CBC. May 24 - Born Lorna Crozier, award winning poet. June 4 - Born Sandra Post champion golfer. July 14 - Born Frieda Wishensky author of books for young readers. August 19 - Born Susan Jacks, member of the musical duo "The Poppy Family" and telecommunications executive. December 25 Born Jane Marie Youngberg (1948- ) Champion Badminton Player Deaths: February 1 - Died Octavia Grace England, first woman valedictorian at McGill University. July 29 - Died Alice Stuart Massey, author and wife of Governor General Vincent Massey December 2- Died Rose-Anna Vachon (1870 (?)- 1948) baker and business woman
1949	Newfoundland joins Confederation. December 12 - Nancy Hodges is named Speaker of the British Columbia Provincial Legislature, the first woman to hold the post of Speaker in the British Commonwealth. Births: Born Zahra Kazeml (1949-2003) murdered photographer and documentalist. Born Jeanne Lamon (1949- ) violinist and award winning Director of Tafelmusik. Born Terry Litovitz (1949-2005) an accounting teacher who was concerned for her students. March 4 - Born Carroll Baker, award winning country music singer May 17 - Born Myra Freeman (1949- ) first woman to be appointed Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. July 11 - Born Liona Boyd, classical guitarist. July 30 - Born Alexina Louie, musician and composer August 6 - Born Mary diMichele, poet and writer. November 14 - Born Carol Matas ( 1949- ) author Deaths: Died Sophie Strub ( -1949) founder of a family pickle business. January 14- Died Elizabeth Smith-Shortt (1859-1949) pioneer women doctor. March 2 - Died Alice Amelia Chown (1866-1949) suffragist and author. April 21 - Died Agnes Dennis (1859-1949) social activist. May 18 - Died Margaret Alexandra Shea (1863-1949) first woman to be a professional nurse in Newfoundland. November 22 - Died Bertha Carr-Harris (1863-1949) author.