Revolutionaries And Activists Of The Americas Codexery

Emily Murphy

First female magistrate in the British Empire and Persons Case leader.

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Murphy is counted among "The Famous Five" who, in 1927, initiated the "Persons Case" to establish that women were "qualified persons" eligible for Senate appointments.[1][2] Evaluations of Murphy's impact remain contested: her feminist achievements are set against her racist beliefs and her promotion of eugenics.[3]

Key facts and history

Murphy was born Emily Gowan Ferguson on 14 March 1868 in Cookstown, Ontario.[4][5] She married in 1887 and had four daughters, two of whom died in childhood.[6][7] Beginning in 1910, Murphy successfully persuaded the Alberta legislature to pass the Dower Act in 1917, which gave a woman legal rights to one-third of her husband's property.[8] On 1 July 1916, during Murphy's initial court session as magistrate, the defendant's attorney contested her authority to impose a sentence, arguing she lacked legal personhood.[9]

Murphy passed away on 27 October 1933, never having taken a seat in Canada's upper legislative chamber.[4][10]

What the research sources say

Harper also notes that Murphy believed in white supremacy and that her views are dismissed as the norm for her time.[11] Floren also states that recent newspaper articles have branded Murphy a racist and an advocate of the Alberta eugenics program.[12] The same article notes that Murphy favoured sterilization of the mentally deficient.[12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Emily Murphy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kome, "Women of Influence: Canadian Women and Politics", Doubleday Canada, 1985, p. 31–32 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Emily Murphy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Emily Murphy", Heritage Minutes (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Emily Murphy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Murphy, "Sterilization of the Insane", September 1932; Wong, "Speech presented as part of the Famous Five Foundation Mentorship series", Famous 5 Foundation, 17 April 1998 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Emily Murphy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Mrs. Emily Murphy, Women's Champion Dies in Edmonton", Calgary Herald, 27 October 1933 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Emily Murphy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Emily Ferguson Murphy", Celebrating Women's Achievements, 2 October 2000 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Emily Murphy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mander 1985, p. 31; Mander 1985, p. 32; Mander 1985, p. 34 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Emily Murphy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mander 1985, p. 32; Mander 1985, p. 60 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Emily Murphy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sanders 1945, p. 123.; The Dower Act, SA 1917, c 14, <https://canlii.ca/t/5422x> retrieved on 2026-07-17 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Emily Murphy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Horowitz, "The Women's Book of World Records and Achievements", Anchor Press, 1979, p. 352 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Emily Murphy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Prentice, "Canadian Women: A History", Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988, p. 282–83 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Harper, "Emily's Paradox", Cannabislink.ca, November 2004. facts only, no text reused. cannabislink.ca
  12. Floren, "Emily Murphy's Legacy", Edmonton Sun, 3 October 2004. facts only, no text reused. cannabislink.ca

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Emily Murphy (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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