Henrietta Edwards

Henrietta Louise Edwards, nee Muir ( born December 18, 1849 in Montreal, Quebec, † November 10, 1931 in Fort Macleod, Alberta) was a Canadian women's rights activist, reformer and member of the Famous Five.

Life

Following her marriage to Oliver C. Edwards and the birth of her three children, the family moved to Saskatchewan. Even as a young woman she supported various feminist concerns, founded in 1875, the " Working Girls ' Association " to support the vocational training of women and a magazine of Women's Work in Canada. In 1893 she founded together with Ishbel Maria Hamilton - Gordon, the National Council of Women and the Victorian Order of Nurses.

Together with Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Emily Murphy and Louise McKinney was one of the The Famous Five (also called Valiant Five ). The five drove a 1927 successfully petitioned the " Persons Case ", ahead, clarified the notion of "person" in the Constitution Act of 1867. It was found that women actually persons within the meaning of the Act were and that it was therefore allowed them to become members of the Canadian Senate. This section had until then made ​​sure that women were excluded from political office.

The Senate decided in October 2009, Edwards and the other members of the Famous Five of Canada's first "honorary senators " to appoint.