William Buell Richards

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Sir William Buell Richards PC (May 2, 1815 – January 26, 1889) was the first Chief Justice of Canada.[citation needed]

Sir William Buell Richards
The Honourable Sir William Buell Richards, portrait by his niece Frances Richards
1st Chief Justice of Canada
In office
September 30, 1875 – January 10, 1879
Nominated byAlexander Mackenzie
Succeeded byWilliam Johnstone Ritchie
Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for Leeds
In office
1848–1853
Preceded byOgle Robert Gowan
Succeeded byJesse Delong
Personal details
Born(1815-05-02)May 2, 1815
Brockville, Upper Canada
DiedJanuary 26, 1889(1889-01-26) (aged 73)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Political partyReformer[citation needed]
RelationsWilliam Buell, uncle
Stephen Richards, brother
Albert Norton Richards, brother
Alma materSt. Lawrence Academy

Richards was born in Brockville, Upper Canada, to Stephen Richards and Phoebe Buell. He earned law degree at the St. Lawrence Academy in Potsdam, New York and then articled with his uncle Andrew Norton Buell 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.[citation needed]

In 1848 Richards was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for the riding of Leeds, and by 1851 he became the Attorney General 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.[citation needed]

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 for the murder of Thomas D'Arcy McGee.[citation needed]

With the creation of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1875 Richards was appointed directly to the position of Chief Justice which he stayed at until his retirement on January 10, 1879.[citation needed]

His brother Albert Norton Richards served in the Canadian House of Commons and was Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia. His niece Frances Richards painted his official portrait.[citation needed]

See also

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  • Supreme Court of Canada biography
  • "William Buell Richards". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
Preceded by Attorney General of Canada West
1848–1854
Succeeded by