John Robert Cartwright (March 23, 1895 – November 24, 1979) was a Canadian lawyer and judge who served as

Chief Justice of Canada The chief justice of 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 system. The '' Supreme Court Ac ...

from 1967 until 1970 and as a

puisne justice Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

from 1949 to 1967.

Life and career

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Cartwright was the son of James Strachan Cartwright and Jane Elizabeth Young. After graduating from

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an independent day and boarding school for boys in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as Canada's most prestigious preparatory school, and ha ...

in 1912, he enrolled at

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal ...

and began his articles with Smith, Rae & Greer. He interrupted his studies in 1914 to serve overseas with the armed forces during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1915 he was wounded twice and for the following two years was an aide-de-camp to three successive generals. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in 1917. Upon his return to Canada, he resumed his study of law. He was called to the bar in 1920, then joined the firm of Smith, Rae & Greer in

. In 1947 he was counsel for the Government of Canada in the prosecutions that resulted from the findings of the Royal Commission on Spying Activities in Canada, which had been chaired by justices Robert Taschereau and Roy Kellock. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on December 22, 1949 and became its chief justice on September 1, 1967. He served on the Supreme Court for 20 years and retired on March 23, 1970. The following year, he accepted a position with the law firm Gowling and Henderson as counsel.

Honours

* 1917 – awarded the

. * 1918 – awarded the 1914–15 Star * 1919 – awarded the British War Medal. * 1919 – awarded the WWI Victory Medal. * 1967 – sworn as a member of the

Queen's Privy Council for Canada The King's Privy Council for Canada (), sometimes called His Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal advisors to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs. Practically, ...

. * 1967 – awarded the Canadian Centennial Medal. * 1969 – awarded an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

. * 1970 – made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

(CC). * 1977 – awarded the Canadian Version of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.

References

External links

Supreme Court of Canada biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, John Robert 1895 births 1979 deaths Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian Anglicans Chief justices of Canada Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada Lawyers in Ontario Companions of the Order of Canada Osgoode Hall Law School alumni Military personnel from Toronto Canadian recipients of the Military Cross Upper Canada College alumni