Melbourne McTaggart Tait
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Sir Melbourne McTaggart Tait, (May 20, 1842 – February 19, 1917) was a
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
lawyer and judge. Born in
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, Canada East, he studied at St Francis College and received a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from
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 1862. He was called to the Bar in 1863. He served as President of the Montreal Garrick Club after 1878. He was created a Queen's Counsel in 1882. He practiced law in Melbourne until moving to Montreal in 1870. In 1887, he was raised to the judicial Bench in the Province of Quebec. He was appointed chief justice of the Superior Court in the district of Montreal in 1894. He was made a
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at
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
's Jubilee, 1897. In January, 1903, he headed a movement to erect Royal Victoria Hospital, a
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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 ...
, as a memorial to
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
.


Family

Melbourne McTaggart Tait, then an advocate, married 1878 his second wife Lily M. Kaighn, daughter of Henry B. Kaighn, of Newport, R. I. Lady Tait performed as an actress, after her marriage, with the Montreal Garrick Club, of which her husband was President. The couple lived at 994 Sherbrooke Street, Montreal. His son, Thomas James Tait, was a railway commissioner.


References

1842 births 1917 deaths Canadian Knights Bachelor Judges in Quebec Lawyers in Quebec Canadian King's Counsel {{Canada-law-bio-stub McGill University Faculty of Law alumni