John Hawkins Hagarty

Who was John Hawkins Hagarty?

Sir John Hawkins Hagarty was a Canadian lawyer, teacher, and judge.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Hagarty was educated at Trinity College, Dublin for a year before emigrating to Upper Canada in 1834. He was a student-at-law in the law office of George Duggan in Toronto. He was called to the Bar in 1840 and was a partner with John Willoughby Crawford. As well from 1852 to 1855, he taught at Trinity College, Toronto. In 1856, he was appointed a judge. He was a judge for 41 years including: Puisne Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench, Chief Justice of Common Pleas, Chief Justice of Queen’s Bench, and President of the Court of Appeal and Chief Justice of Ontario. He was knighted when he retired in 1897.