Alice Girard

Alice Girard (1907 to 1999) was an American-born Quebec nurse who became one of the leading figures of Canadian and international nursing. Born the seventh child of a family that originated in Quebec, she grew up in Connecticut until the family returned to Quebec when she was eleven, and she chose a career over marriage at a time when the two were widely seen as incompatible. She rose to be the first French-speaking President of the Canadian Nurses Association and the first Canadian to head the International Council of Nurses. She also taught, and in 1962 she became the first woman to serve as a dean at the University of Montreal. Her honours include honorary degrees from the universities of Toronto and Montreal, the Florence Nightingale Medal, the Order of Canada as an Officer in 1995 and the National Order of Quebec in 1994.