William Johnstone Ritchie

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

Biography

The son of Thomas Ritchie, a judge and member of the House of Representatives of Nova Scotia, received his education at the prestigious Pictou Academy. He studied law in the office of his brother John William Ritchie (at that time there were in Nova Scotia no law school ) 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.

1846 Ritchie was elected as a Liberal candidate in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, where he championed in particular for the enhanced delivery of parcels of land to British immigrants and the construction of railways. In 1851 he gave up his seat, but moved again in 1854 to parliament. In the cabinet of Charles Fisher, he was Minister without Portfolio. In 1855 he announced the policy on final, after he had been appointed a member of the Supreme Court of New Brunswick. Ten years later the appointment was followed by the President of the Tribunal.

Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie appointed Ritchie on September 30, 1875 one of the six judges of the Supreme Court of Canada recently introduced. On January 11, 1879, he took over the chairmanship of Chief Justice. This office he held until his death.