Who were the 'Famous Five' in Canada?

The Famous Five, also called the Valiant Five, were Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy and Louise McKinney of Ontario, Muir Edwards of Montreal and Irene Parlby of England. These women were pioneers in the cause of the political rights of Canadian women. In 1927 they collectively challenged the Supreme Court of Canada to answer the question, "Does the word, 'Persons' in section 24 of the British North American Act of 1867 include females?" The Supreme Court's negative response was over-turned by the Privy Council of Britain in 1928. Although Canadian women had the vote in many provinces and in federal elections by 1929, the case was part of a continent-wide drive for political equality. The Famous Five's successful fight threw down gender barriers that had barred women from, among other things, serving as magistrates or being appointed to the Senate of Canada.

McClung was an acclaimed novelist, member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the first woman member of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Board of Governors. Murphy was a renowned journalist and the first female magistrate in Canada. Edwards was the co-founder of the National Council of Women of Canada and the Victorian Order of Nurses. Parlby was the first female Cabinet minister in Alberta and president of the United Farm Women of Alberta. McKinney was the first woman to sit in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the first woman elected to a legislature in Canada and the British Empire.