Lyman Duff

The Right Honourable Sir Lyman Duff GCMG, PC, QC
Lyman Poore Duff in 1910
8th Chief Justice of Canada
In office March 17, 1933 – January 7, 1944
Preceded by	Francis Anglin
Succeeded by	Thibaudeau Rinfret
Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
In office September 27, 1906 – March 17, 1933
Preceded by	Robert Sedgewick
Succeeded by	Frank Hughes
Personal details
Born	January 7, 1865(1865-01-07) Meaford, Ontario
Died	April 26, 1955(1955-04-26) (aged 90) Ottawa, Ontario
Alma mater	University of Toronto

Sir Lyman Poore Duff, GCMG, PC, QC (January 7, 1865 – April 26, 1955) was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and briefly served as Acting Governor General of Canada in 1931 and 1940.

Bust of the Rt. Hon. Sir Lyman Duff in the Supreme Court of Canada building.

Born in Meaford, Ontario to a Congregationalist minister, he received a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and metaphysics in 1887 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1889 from the University of Toronto. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1893. In 1901, he was created a Queen's Counsel. From 1890 to 1895, he was a teacher of math at Barrie Collegiate Institute. He was a lawyer in Fergus, Ontario and moved to Victoria, British Columbia in 1895 to practise law.

In 1904, he was appointed a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. In 1906 was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. He was appointed Chief Justice of Canada in 1933 and retired in 1944. On January 14, 1914, he was made a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.^[1]

In 1931, he served as Administrator of the Government of Canada between the departure of Lord Bessborough for India and the arrival of Lord Tweedsmuir. Duff took on the position, as the Chief Justice was unavailable. In 1933, Duff was promoted to Chief Justice. He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George the following year^[2] as a result of Prime Minister Richard Bennett's temporary suspension of the Nickle Resolution.

When Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir died in office on February 11, 1940, according to the rules of succession, Chief Justice Duff became acting Governor General. He held the office for nearly four months, until the Queen of Canada appointed a new Governor General on June 21, 1940, acting on the advice of her Canadian Cabinet. Duff was the first Canadian to hold the position, even in the interim. A Canadian Governor General was not appointed until Vincent Massey in 1952.

Sir Lyman Duff poses with his bust at its official unveiling, Sept. 5, 1947. In photo: (L.-R.:) J.L. Ilsley, J.C. McRuer, Sir Lyman Duff, John T. Hackett, K.C., W.L. Mackenzie King, Thibaudeau Rinfret.

Further reading

• Williams, David Ricardo (1984). Duff: A Life In The Law. University of British Columbia Press. ISBN 0-7748-0203-0. 

References

• Lyman Poore Duff fonds

1. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31427. p. 1. 1 July 1919. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
2. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 34010. p. 5. 29 December 1933. Retrieved 2009-04-21.

References

• Official Supreme Court biography

Political offices
Preceded by The Lord Tweedsmuir	Acting Governor General of Canada or administrator 1931 and 1940	Succeeded by The Earl of Athlone

Persondata
Name	Duff, Lyman Poore
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 7, 1865
Place of birth	Meaford, Ontario
Date of death	April 26, 1955
Place of death	Ottawa, Ontario