William Ralph Meredith
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Sir William Ralph Meredith (31 March 1840 – 21 August 1923) was a politician in the Canadian province of Ontario. He was leader of the Ontario Conservatives from 1878 to 1894 and Chief Justice of Ontario from 1912 until his death.
Although a Conservative, Meredith was considered radical by many Tories. He advocated universal male suffrage and legislation in favour of workers. He is considered to be the father of Ontario's Workers' compensation system.
An ardent federalist, Meredith was a strong supporter of Canadian Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald. In 1894, he was appointed to a judgeship, and in 1912 he became Chief Justice on the Supreme Court of Ontario.
Sir William was one of eight well known brothers, collectively known as 'The Eight London Merediths'. They were Sir Vincent Meredith, Charles Meredith and The Hon. Richard Martin Meredith (1847-1924) Q.C., Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas and President of the High Court Division of Ontario. Thomas Graves Meredith (1853-1945) K.C., was President of the Canada Trust Company, and Edmund Meredith (1845-1921) K.C. was a well revered criminal barrister and later served as Mayor of London. John Stanley Meredith (1843-1920) was General Manager of the Merchant's Bank at the head office in Montreal, and the youngest of the brothers was Llewellyn Meredith (1860-1933) J.P., who bred horses and continued his father's real estate business in London. Their father, John Walsingham Cooke Meredith (1809-1881) J.P., was a first cousin of Sir William Collis Meredith of Quebec.
In 1862 William Meredith married Mary (1842-1930), daughter of Marcus Holmes, Mayor of London, leaving three daughters and one son. He and his wife are interred at the St. James Cemetery in Toronto.
He was elected Chancellor of the University of Toronto in 1900.
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| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by Edward Blake |
Chancellor of the University of Toronto 1900–1923 |
Succeeded by Byron Edmund Walker |
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