Dr. Eliza Ritchie

Canada’s first woman PhD and champion of education in the Maritimes

Eliza Ritchie (1856 – 1933) broke ground as the first Canadian woman to earn a PhD – and never stopped pushing for progress. A philosopher, teacher, suffragist, and cultural advocate, she was part of a remarkable family of women who helped shape Halifax’s intellectual and civic life.

Born in Halifax, Eliza was raised in a prominent family – her father, the Hon. John W. Ritchie, served as a judge in equity. She was educated at home and at private schools, but her academic ambitions soon took her far beyond the usual expectations for women of her time.

In 1881, Dalhousie University began admitting women. Eliza enrolled in 1882 and graduated in 1887 with a Degree in Letters and first-class honours in philosophy. She went on to study at Cornell University, where she was appointed a Fellow in Philosophy, and in 1889 she earned a PhD in German philosophy – becoming the first Nova Scotian (and likely the first Canadian) woman to do so.

She pursued further studies in Leipzig, Germany, and at Oxford, England.

In 1890, Eliza was appointed professor of philosophy at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she later became an associate professor in 1897. Her work was widely respected, and she contributed to leading journals such as the Philosophical Review and the International Journal of Ethics.

In 1899, she returned to Halifax. By 1901, she was lecturing at Dalhousie and in 1919, she became the alumnae representative on the university’s Board of Governors. In 1927, she received an honorary degree from Dalhousie, marking four decades of influence in higher education.

She published two books: The Problem of Personality (1889) and Songs of the Maritimes (1931), blending her academic background with her love for regional culture.

Eliza Ritchie was a vocal advocate for women’s education and an active suffragist. She once stated that her goal was to make the Maritimes ‘a centre for high thinking and for the fostering of art’.

She often shared the stage with her equally accomplished sisters, Ella and Mary, whose similar interests led to some confusion in historical records. For example, Eliza was mistakenly credited with being a founding director of the Nova Scotia College of Art – a role that rightly belonged to Ella.

Still, Eliza’s individual legacy stands firm. In 1985, Dalhousie marked the centenary of women’s graduation by creating the Eliza Ritchie Doctoral Scholarship for Women, first awarded in 1987 – the centenary of Eliza’s own graduation. That same year, a university residence was named in her honour.