Martha Black

Martha Louise Black
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Yukon
In office 1935–1940
Preceded by	George Blackhi
Succeeded by	George Black
Personal details
Born	Martha Louise Munger (1866-02-24)February 24, 1866 Chicago, Illinois
Died	October 31, 1957(1957-10-31) (aged 91) Whitehorse, Yukon
Political party	Independent Conservative
Spouse	George Black
Children	3

Martha Louise Purdy Black OBE (February 24, 1866 – October 31, 1957) was a Canadian politician and the second woman elected to the Canadian House of Commons.

Martha Louise Munger was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of George and Susan Munger, a wealthy family. She was educated at Saint Mary's College (Indiana), which was run by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. Of the five children her mother had over four years, Martha was the only one to survive. She had two younger siblings, George Jr. and Belle. Her father operated a laundry that was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire.

Martha married Will Purdy. He left her to go to Hawaii and Martha broke up with him. In 1899, she gave birth to their child in a log cabin after he left.

In 1899 she crossed the Chilkoot Pass into Canada, heading for the gold rush in the Klondike (Dawson City, Yukon). She returned home to Chicago, and returned again to the Klondike in 1900. She earned a living by staking goldmining claims and running a sawmill and a gold ore-crushing plant. In 1904, she married George Black, Commissioner of the Yukon.

In the 1935 federal election, she was elected for the riding of Yukon as an Independent Conservative taking the place of her ill husband. She was the second woman ever to be elected to the House of Commons of Canada.

She published an autobiography, My Seventy Years, in 1938. This was subsequently updated and published in 1998 as "Martha Black: Her Story from the Dawson Gold Fields to the Halls of Parliament".

Honours and awards

In 1917, she was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society for her series of lectures on the Yukon that she presented in Great Britain. In 1946, she was made an Officer of Order of the British Empire for her cultural and social contributions to the Yukon.

In 1986 a Canadian Coast Guard high-endurance multi-tasked vessel was given the name "Martha L. Black" in her honour. The vessel sails in the Quebec Region area. In 1997, Canada Post issued a $0.45 stamp in her honour. Martha Black wrote a book called "My Seventy Years". ( First published in 1938.)

References

• "Martha Louise Black fonds". University of Waterloo. Retrieved June 16, 2006.

External links

• Martha Black – Parliament of Canada biography
• Martha Louise Black at The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Library and Archives Canada biography
• Canadian Coast Guard - Marinfo

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