The Famous Five

Nellie McClung- Nellie McClung was born on 20 October 1873 in Chatswat, Ontario and
died on 1 September 1951 in Victoria, British Columbia. In her early life, Nellie McClung married
Robert Wesley, in August 1896. They had five children between 1897 and 1911. In 1911, Nellie
McClung, Robert Wesley and their five children moved to Winnipeg, where Wesley had been
offered a position as an insurance broker. The following year, Nellie McClung and fourteen other
women formed the Women's Political Equality League, an organization focused on women's
suffrage. Nellie McClung campaigned for the Manitoba Liberal Party in the 1914 and 1915
general elections. The McClungs moved to Edmonton, Alberta, after Wesley was offered a
promotion. In Alberta, Nellie McClung continued to fight for temperance, Healthcare, and
women’s right to vote.

Emily Murphy-Emily Murphy was born on 14 March 1868 in Cookstown, Ontario and died on
27 October 1933 (aged 65) in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1916, she became the first female
magistrate in Canada and the British Empire. She is one of the Famous Five who fought for
human rights. In 1927, the women launched the "Persons Case," contending that women could
be "qualified persons" eligible to sit in the Senate. The Supreme court of Canada rejected their
petition, So they took their case to the highest court, The Privy court in England.

Irene Parlby-Irene Parlby was born on 9 January 1868 in London, England and died on 12
July 1965 (aged 97) in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Parlby's political life began in 1914 when
she, along with other women in the surrounding area, created the Alix Country Women's Club,
and Parlby was chosen as secretary. She served as Minister without portfolio in the Cabinet of
Alberta from 1921 to 1935. As a member of the Famous Five, she was one of five women who
took the Persons Case first to the Supreme Court of Canada and then to the British Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council for the right of women to serve in the Senate of Canada. From
1930 to 1934, she was one of the three Canadian representatives at the League of Nations in
Geneva, Switzerland.

Henrietta Muir Edwards-Henrietta Muir Edwards was born on 18 December 1849 in

Montreal, Quebec and died on 10 November 1931 (aged 81) in Fort Macleod, Alberta. Henrietta
Edwards and her sister Amelia founded a Working Girls’ Association in Montreal in 1875 to
provide meals, reading rooms and study classes. She married Dr. Oliver C. Edwards in 1876 and
they had three children. Henrietta Edwards collaborated with Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Louise
McKinney, and Emily Murphy to fight for the Persons Case in the late 1920s, which established
that Canadian women were eligible to be appointed senators and, that Canadian women had
the same rights as Canadian men.

Louise McKinney-McKinney was born on 22 September 1868 in Frankville, Ontario, and died
on 10 July 1931 (aged 62) in Claresholm, Alberta. Her father had immigrated from Ireland to
settle in Upper Canada in 1842, later bringing his wife in 1857. McKinney graduated from
Athens High School intending to become a physician but faced difficulty entering medical school
due to her gender. Instead, she attended Ottawa Normal School to become a teacher. She
taught for four years in Ontario before moving to North Dakota, where she taught for three more
years.McKinney was one of the Famous Five, along with Irene Parlby, Henrietta Muir Edwards,
Emily Murphy and Nellie McClung, a group of five women who fought for the right to be
considered "persons" and be eligible to serve in the Senate of Canada. In 1927, the case was
taken to the Supreme Court of Canada, which ruled that women were not eligible to serve in the
Senate. In 1929, the ruling was appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council,
Canada's highest court at the time. The Judicial Committee overturned the Supreme Court's
decision, and the first woman, Cairine Wilson, was appointed to the Senate the following year.