The images in this collection are collected from several series of historical photos throughout Osgoode Digital Commons.
If you would like to view the images in their original galleries please follow the links below:
Osgoode@125 Historical Photo ExhibitOsgoode Catalysts
Remembrance Day
Graduating Class Composites
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1897 - “Banish All Maiden Mawkishness”
Clara Brett Martin becomes the first woman in Canada to be admitted to the Bar, also making her the first female lawyer in the British Commonwealth, after the Law Society of Upper Canada unenthusiastically changes its rule to admit women.
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Clara Brett Martin ’96 (1874-1923)
Clara Brett Martin’s first battle was to just get into Osgoode. Her petition to the Law Society of Upper Canada to be recognized as a student was initially rejected, but with the support of politicians, including Ontario Premier Oliver Mowat, and prominent activists Emily Stowe and Lady Aberdeen, legislation was passed on April 13, 1892 that permitted the admission of women. She went on to become the first woman in the British Commonwealth to be called to the bar. Although celebrated for her determination in “opening the bar” to women, recent archival evidence has disclosed that Martin held anti-Semitic views which she expressed in a letter to the Attorney General. Whether this reflects a prevailing attitude of the time among the Bar or the Toronto establishment, or whether it is a stain on her record of achievement, Clara Brett Martin’s legacy as a trailblazer continues to shape legal education a century later.
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1895 - Benchers Scandalized by the ‘Introduction and Consumption’ of Liquor at a Debate
The Osgoode Literary and Legal Society organizes annual “At-Home” balls, musical-literary evenings, debates, mock trials, and elaborate dinners at Webster’s Parlours. This dance card was handed out at one of the “At-Homes” in 1892. A pencil was attached with a string so guests could write in their dance partners.
