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William Buell Richards
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir William Buell Richards, PC, Kt (2 May 1815 – January 26, 1889) was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Richards was born in Brockville, Upper Canada to Stephen Richards and Phoebe Buell. He earned law degree at the St. Lawrence Academy in Potsdam, New York and then articled with his uncle Andrew Norton Buell in Brockville. He was called to the bar in 1837 and continued to practice in Brockwille with George Malloch until 1853 and then with his uncle again.
In 1848 Richards was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada and by 1848 he became the Attorney General for the province. Leaving politics, he was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas of western Canada and by 1863 he became Chief Justice.
In November of 1868 Richards was appointed to Chief Justice of the province which was the highest court in Canada at the time. It was during this time that he heard the appeal of Patrick James Whelan for the murder of Thomas D'Arcy McGee.
With the creation of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1875 Richards was appointed directly to the position of Chief Justice which he stayed at until his retirement on January 10, 1879.
- based on official Supreme Court bio
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain |
Chief Justice of Canada September 30, 1875 – January 10, 1879 |
Succeeded by William Johnstone Ritchie |
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| Richards · Ritchie · Strong · H. E. Taschereau · Fitzpatrick · Davies · Anglin · Duff · Rinfret · Kerwin · R. Taschereau · Cartwright · Fauteux · Laskin · Dickson · Lamer · McLachlin |
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| 1875–1878: W. Ritchie · S. Strong · J. Taschereau · T. Fournier · W. Henry |
| 1878–1879: W. Ritchie · S. Strong · T. Fournier · W. Henry · H. Taschereau |