Nicholas Dubois Dominic Beck (May 4, 1857 – May 15, 1928) was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Early life

Beck was born in Cobourg, Ontario on May 4, 1857, to Reverend J.W.R. and Georgina (Boulton) Beck. He attended private schools and the Collegiate Institute of Peterboro. He graduated from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1881, having been practicing in

Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...

since 1879.

Career

Lawyer

He was called to the Ontario bar in 1882, moving his practice to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

the year after, then made his way further west, to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

in 1889 practicing at the firm of Lougheed, McCarthy & Beck, and settling in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

in 1891 to form the firm of Beck, Emery, Newell and Boulton. He then worked as a Crown Prosecutor from 1892 to 1907, being employed by the City of Edmonton. He took silk by becoming

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1893. He also served as President of the Law Society of the Northwest Territories from 1901 to 1907, ending his duties with the creation of the

Law Society of Alberta The Law Society of Alberta (LSA) is the self-regulating body for lawyers in Alberta, Canada, established in 1907 which derives its authority from the Legal Profession Act of the Government of Alberta. Its main office is located in Calgary. As ...

in 1907.

Justice

Beck was appointed to newly created Supreme Court of Alberta in 1907 and was elevated to the Appellate Division when it was created in 1921. He served on the court until his death on May 14, 1928.

Chancellor

Beck became the first Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

in 1908, serving until 1926 when he became the University's second Chancellor. He also served on the university's Senate from 1908 to 1928 and on the Board of Governors from 1926 to 1927.

Other

Having become a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

in 1883, he started editing the Northwest Catholic Review. He also became an editor of the Territorial and Alberta Law Reports. Although his initial career began as a Conservative, he was an ardent Liberal by 1900. In 1910 he was appointed Chairman of the Royal Commission investigating the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal.

Family and later years

Beck had four children: Cyril L., H. Austin, J.C. Landry, and Beatrice who married H. Milton Martin. His first wife was Mary Ethel Lloyd, whom he married in 1886. She died in 1904. He married his second wife, Louisa Teefy, a Toronto area advice columnist, in 1906. He died on May 15, 1928, at the age of 71 while in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington on his honeymoon with his third wife, Jeanne Tilley. He enjoyed playing poker.

References

External links

Picture of Beck from the University of Alberta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Nicholas 1857 births 1928 deaths Judges in Alberta Lawyers in Alberta University of Toronto alumni People from Cobourg Chancellors of the University of Alberta