Denis Murphy (June 20, 1870 – May 1, 1947) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He represented

Yale-West Yale-West was a provincial electoral district in the British Columbia legislature that appeared only in the 1894, 1898 and 1900 elections. It and its sister ridings Yale-West and Yale-East were created from the older three-member Yale riding, which ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...

from 1900 to 1903. He was born in

Lac La Hache, British Columbia Lac La Hache is a recreational and retirement community in the Cariboo region of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the shore of Lac La Hache alongside British Columbia Highway 97 near the regional centre of 100 Mile House, the community's ori ...

, the son of Denis Murphy and Helen White, and was educated at

Ottawa University Ottawa University (OU) is a private Baptist university with its main campus in Ottawa, Kansas, a second residential campus in Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in the Kansas City, Phoenix and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. It was founded in ...

. Murphy was called to the British Columbia bar in 1896. He practised in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

for about a year and then moved to

Ashcroft Ashcroft may refer to: Places * Ashcroft, British Columbia, a village in Canada **Ashcroft House in Bagpath, Gloucestershire, England—eponym of the Canadian village * Ashcroft, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Ashcroft, Colorado, ...

, where he practised until 1909. In 1900, he married Maude Cameron. He was named to the provincial cabinet as Provincial Secretary in November 1902 but resigned his cabinet post a few days later. Murphy was named to the

Supreme Court of British Columbia Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * The Supremes, Motown-e ...

in 1909; he retired from the bench in 1941. He also served on the board of governors for the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. In 1911, Murphy submitted a letter in the ''Vancouver Law Students' Annual'' under the name "Quill" in support of instituting formal legal education in the province. He died in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

at the age of 76.

References

1870 births 1949 deaths Independent MLAs in British Columbia Judges in British Columbia Lawyers in British Columbia {{BritishColumbia-MLA-stub