Nora Frances Henderson 1897-1949

Nora Frances Henderson 1897-1949. Journalist, Politician, Welfare Activist. , Born in England, Nora Frances Henderson settled in Hamilton in 1917. She began her career with the Hamilton Herald as a cub reporter and became editor of the Women's Page. She devoted her two great talents, writing and speaking, to her passion for civic affairs and social reform. She authored a play "The Pageant of Motherhood" to draw attention to the problem of maternal mortality. It was distributed nationwide by the National Council of Women. She wrote editorials urging women to participate in public life. Four women were subsequently appointed to the Board of the Hamilton General Hospital. , Henderson became the first woman elected to Hamilton's City Council in 1931. In 1934, she became the first woman in Canada to be elected to a municipal Board of Control. Her political career was damaged during the 1946 Stelco strike, which divided the community. As acting mayor, Henderson stood up for the democratic rights of all workers. In 1947 she retired from politics and became Executive Secretary of the Association of Children's Aid Societies of Ontario, where she continued to advocate for the health and rights of children and families. , In 1954, Hamilton named the new hospital on the Mountain the Nora Frances Henderson Convalescent Hospital. In 1965 the Henderson and Mountain hospitals amalgamated as the Nora Frances Henderson General Hospital. Nora Henderson died in 1949 and was inducted into the Hamilton Gallery of Distinction in 1990. While the hospital underwent major reconstruction and expansion in 2010, the remaining wing of the Henderson General Hospital still bears her name., Hamilton Historical Board , City of Hamilton , 2014