Judith Mappin (born Judith Taylor in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

) was a Canadian businesswoman and philanthropist. She was the daughter of businessman

E. P. Taylor Edward Plunket Taylor, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989) was a Canadians, Canadian business tycoon, investor and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred horse racing, race ...

, and she was a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

of the

Charles Taylor Prize The RBC Taylor Prize (2000–2020), formerly known as the Charles Taylor Prize, is a Canadian literary award, presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation to the best Canadian work of literary non-fiction. It is named for Charles P. B. Taylor, a ...

for Canadian non-fiction literature, named after her late brother Charles.

Life and career

She was born in

and remained there during her youth. She studied at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

in Montreal, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1950. She continued to live in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

with her husband, John N. Mappin. From 1974 to 2005, Mappin operated the Double Hook bookstore in Montreal, which sold only Canadian book

Her promotion of Canadian literature earned her a President's Award of Distinction in 2005 from the

Association of Canadian Publishers Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

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She also served on the jury for the 1999 Scotiabank Giller Prize, Giller Prize for Canadian fiction. She founded scholarship programs at McGill University, one in 2000 for undergraduate environmental studie

and another in 2002 for graduate students in women's health studie

In 2006, she received an honorary doctorate from McGill, alongside

Jean Béliveau Joseph Jean Arthur Béliveau (August 31, 1931 – December 2, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's (NHL) Montreal Canadiens from 1950 to 1971. Inducted into the ...

and governor general

Michaëlle Jean Michaëlle Jean (; born September 6, 1957) is a Canadian stateswoman and former journalist who served from 2005 to 2010 as governor general of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation. She is the first Haitian Canadian and black person ...

. Her appointment as a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

was announced on 1 July 2008. The Global and Mail and others have called Mappin a 'heroine of Canadian literature' for her pioneering efforts in the field. Mappin died 14 February 2014.

References

''Quill & Quire'' June 2005
(1995 Community Award for Mappin)
Announcement of New Members of Order of Canada, 1 July 2008
Businesspeople from Toronto Businesspeople from Montreal Canadian women in business McGill University alumni Members of the Order of Canada People from Westmount, Quebec 2014 deaths Year of birth missing {{Canada-business-bio-stub