William Johnstone Ritchie

William Johnstone Ritchie

Sir William Johnstone Ritchie QC (born October 28, 1813 in Annapolis , Nova Scotia , † September 25, 1892 in Ottawa ) was a Canadian judge and politician . He was a member of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1875 to 1892 and was its Chairman ( Chief Justice ) from 1879 .

biography

The son of Thomas Ritchie, a judge and member of the Nova Scotia House of Representatives , received his education at the prestigious Pictou Academy . He studied law in the law firm of his brother John William Ritchie (at that time there was no law faculty in Nova Scotia) and was admitted to the bar in 1837. The following year he settled in Saint John , the capital of New Brunswick , where he opened his own law firm.

In 1846 Ritchie was elected as a liberal candidate in the legislative assembly of New Brunswick , where he campaigned in particular for the increased surrender of land to British immigrants and the construction of railways. In 1851 he gave up his mandate, but returned to parliament in 1854. He was a minister without portfolio in the cabinet of Charles Fisher . In 1855 he gave up politics for good after being appointed a member of the New Brunswick Supreme Court. Ten years later he was appointed chairman of this court.

Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie named Ritchie on September 30, 1875 one of six judges in the newly established Supreme Court of Canada. On January 11, 1879, he took over the presidency as Chief Justice . He held this office until his death. In 1881 he was knighted as a Knight Bachelor ("Sir").

See also

• List of justices at the Supreme Court of Canada

Web links

• William Johnstone Ritchie . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
• Supreme Court of Canada - Portrait (English)