Sir William Buell Richards (May 2, 1815 – January 26, 1889) was the first

Chief Justice of Canada The chief justice of Canada (french: juge en chef du Canada) is the presiding judge of the nine-member Supreme Court of Canada, the highest judicial body in Canada. As such, the chief justice is the highest-ranking judge of the Canadian court sy ...

. Richards was born in

Brockville Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It i ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

, to Stephen Richards and Phoebe Buell. He earned law degree at the St. Lawrence Academy in

Potsdam, New York Potsdam ( moh, Tsi tewate’nehtararénies) is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The town population was 14,901 at the 2020 census. The ZIP Code is 13676. When SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson University are in session, the popul ...

and then articled with his uncle

Andrew Norton Buell Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

in Brockville. He was called to the bar in 1837 and continued to practice in Brockville 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 The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper C ...

for the riding of Leeds, and by 1851 he became the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

for Canada West. Leaving politics in June 1853, he was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas of Canada West and by 1863 he became Chief Justice. In November 1868 Richards was appointed to Chief Justice of the province which was the highest court in Ontario at that time, the Supreme Court not yet having been created. It was during this time that he heard the appeal of

Patrick James Whelan Patrick James Whelan (c. 1840 – 11 February 1869) was a suspected Fenian supporter executed following the 1868 assassination of Irish journalist and politician Thomas D'Arcy McGee. He maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings, but ...

for the murder of

Thomas D'Arcy McGee Thomas D'Arcy McGee (13 April 18257 April 1868) was an Irish-Canadian politician, Catholic spokesman, journalist, poet, and a Father of Canadian Confederation. The young McGee was an Irish Catholic who opposed British rule in Ireland, and w ...

. With the creation of the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

in 1875 Richards was appointed directly to the position of Chief Justice which he stayed at until his retirement on January 10, 1879. His brother

Albert Norton Richards Albert Norton Richards, (December 8, 1821 – March 6, 1897) was a Canadian lawyer and political figure. He represented Leeds South in the House of Commons of Canada as a Liberal member from 1872 to 1874. He served as the second Lieutena ...

served in the Canadian House of Commons and was

Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia The lieutenant governor of British Columbia () is the viceregal representative of the , in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The office of lieutenant governor is an office of the Crown and serves as a representative of the monarchy in ...

. His niece Frances Richards painted his official portrait.

External links

Supreme Court of Canada biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, William Buell 1815 births 1889 deaths Canadian Knights Bachelor Chief justices of Canada Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West People from Brockville Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Attorneys-General of the Province of Canada

See also

External links