Sir William Buell Richards

Sir William Buell Richards (born May 2, 1815, Brockville, Upper Canada—died Jan. 26, 1889, Ottawa) was a politician and jurist who was the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (1875–79).

He was educated at Johnstown District Grammar School in his native Brockville and at the St. Lawrence Academy in Potsdam, N.Y., and then studied law in an uncle’s law offices, being admitted to the Canadian bar in 1837. He joined many community organizations and became an ardent member of the Reform Party. He was a representative in the Legislative Assembly of Canada (1848–53) and, during this period, attorney general for Canada West (1851–53), when he pursued many aspects of legal reform, including reorganizing the statute law and raising the requirements for admission to the bar. Although he was a better politician than a legal scholar, he was appointed a puisne judge in the Court of Common Pleas in 1853 and became its chief justice in 1863. He became a highly popular jurist, known for his wit and common sense if not for any brilliant juridical vision.

In 1871 he visited the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C., to observe its operations; and, when the Supreme Court of Canada was formed in 1875, he was named its first chief justice, serving until his retirement in 1879. He became a staunch defender of the young court, helping to establish its rules of order, its procedures, and its jurisdiction. He was knighted in 1877.