Person

Reid, Helen R. Y., 1869-1941

1869-1941

Helen Richmond Young Reid was born on December 11, 1869, in Montreal, Quebec.

She was a Canadian social reformer and author. She was educated at the Montreal School for Girls. She and several classmates decided to apply to McGill University, though the school was not open to female students. Her mother persuaded Donald A. Smith (future Lord Strathcona) to make an endowment to the university, to cover the cost of separate classes for women. In 1884, Helen was in the first class of "donaldas", as women admitted to McGill were called (B.A., 1889). She continued her studies at the University of Genova, Switzerland, and after her return to Montreal, she dedicated herself to social work. She served on the board of the Montreal Council of Women (1900-1903) and helped start Montreal's chapter of the Victorian Order of Nurses. She founded the McGill School of Social Work and participated in the creation of the School of Nursing. She was an officer of the Canadian Public Health Association, of the Family Welfare Association of America, of the Canadian Welfare Council, and she served on the Dominion Council of Health. She was president of the Montreal Council of Social Agencies and of the Child Welfare Association. A great traveller, polyglot, and golf player, she acquired a national and international reputation. In 1935, Reid was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her lifetime of "philanthropic services in the Dominion of Canada".

She died on June 8, 1941, in Montreal, Quebec.