Carrie Derick
A tenacious Canadian scientist who broke the university's gender barrier, becoming its first female professor and founding the field of genetics at McGill.
1862–1941 (age 79)·Canadian botanist and geneticist·Birthday: January 14·The Gilded Age
Biography
Carrie Derick's career was a sustained campaign against the limits placed on women in science. Beginning as a brilliant botany student at McGill University, she excelled so clearly that she was kept on first as a demonstrator, then a lecturer—roles that typically led to professorships for men, but not for her. For over 15 years, she ran the morphology department without the title or salary of a professor, her expertise undeniable but her gender an institutional obstacle. Her persistence, combined with her pioneering research in plant genetics and morphology, finally forced the issue. In 1912, McGill appointed her a Professor of Botanical Morphology, a historic first for a woman at a Canadian university. She didn't stop there; she essentially created McGill's genetics department, introducing the revolutionary science of Mendelism to the curriculum. Derick was more than a scholar; she was a pragmatic feminist who used her hard-won position to advocate for women's education and suffrage, proving that the laboratory could be a site of social change.
The Gilded Age
1860–1882
Born during or after the Civil War, they built industrial America — the railroads, the steel mills, the first skyscrapers. An era of massive wealth, massive inequality, and the belief that the future belonged to whoever could build it fastest.
Carrie was born in 1862, placing them squarely in The Gilded Age. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Carrie Was Born
The biggest hits of 1862
Carrie's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1862Born
President: Abraham Lincoln
1867Started school
President: Andrew Johnson
1875Became a teenager
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1878Could drive
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1880Could vote
Edison patents the incandescent light bulb
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1883Turned 21
President: Chester A. Arthur
1892Turned 30
President: Benjamin Harrison
1902Turned 40
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1912Turned 50
Titanic sinks on its maiden voyage
President: William Howard Taft
1922Turned 60
King Tut's tomb discovered in Egypt
President: Warren G. Harding"April Showers" — Al Jolson
1932Turned 70
Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Night and Day" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Grand Hotel
1941Died at 79
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
Key Achievements
- Became the first woman appointed as a full professor at a Canadian university (McGill University) in 1912.
- Founded the genetics department at McGill University, introducing the study of Mendelian genetics.
- Published significant botanical research, particularly on the morphology and genetics of ferns and other plants.
- Was a prominent advocate for women's higher education and suffrage in Quebec.
Did You Know?
Before her professorship, she was the first woman to give a lecture at McGill, substituting for a male colleague.
She studied under and worked with the famous botanist Sir William Dawson.
She was a founding member of the Montreal Suffrage Association.
Despite her professorship, she was denied a seat on the university's governing board because of her gender.
“A microscope reveals truths, not the gender of the eye that looks through it.”
