SOCIAL ACTIVIST

Viola Desmond

1914 - 1965

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Viola Irene Desmond (July 6, 1914 – February 7, 1965) was a Canadian civil and women's rights activist and businesswoman of Black Nova Scotian descent. In 1946, she challenged racial segregation at a cinema in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, by refusing to leave a whites-only area of the Roseland Theatre. For this, she was convicted of a minor tax violation for the one-cent tax difference between the seat that she had paid for and the seat that she used, which was more expensive. Desmond's case is one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination in Canadian history and helped start the modern civil rights movement in Canada. Read more on Wikipedia

Her biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Viola Desmond is the 372nd most popular social activist (down from 328th in 2019), the 258th most popular biography from Canada (down from 176th in 2019) and the 2nd most popular Canadian Social Activist.

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Among SOCIAL ACTIVISTS

Among social activists, Viola Desmond ranks 372 out of 840. Before her are Samantha Smith, Vasily Ignatenko, Mari Beyleryan, Alexander Antonov, Toktogul Satylganov, and Toyohiko Kagawa. After her are Robert Catesby, Baba Amte, Bipin Chandra Pal, Wei Jingsheng, Nikolai Kuznetsov, and Leonard Peltier.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1914, Viola Desmond ranks 203. Before her are George Volkoff, Haroun Tazieff, Dorival Caymmi, Hans Wegner, Afonsinho, and Arvīds Jansons. After her are Jorge Bolet, Baba Amte, Alf Prøysen, František Čapek, Ehmetjan Qasim, and Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury. Among people deceased in 1965, Viola Desmond ranks 109. Before her are Maria Dąbrowska, Vittorio Jano, Georges Vantongerloo, Clemente Micara, Hamo Beknazarian, and Albert Gutterson. After her are Edgar Ende, Roger Vailland, Aldo Nadi, Mostafa El-Nahas, Henry Cowell, and Dorothy Dandridge.

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In Canada

Among people born in Canada, Viola Desmond ranks 258 out of 1,622. Before her are Louis St. Laurent (1882), Terry Sawchuk (1929), Louis Jolliet (1645), Garou (1972), John T. Dunlap (1957), and Robert Paul (1937). After her are Gabrielle Roy (1909), Arthur Jeffrey Dempster (1886), Roddy Piper (1954), Sophie Grégoire Trudeau (1975), Joseph-Armand Bombardier (1907), and Frank Dux (1956).

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Among SOCIAL ACTIVISTS In Canada

Among social activists born in Canada, Viola Desmond ranks 2. Before her are Paul Watson (1950). After her are John Peters Humphrey (1905), David Reimer (1965), Emily Murphy (1868), Henrietta Edwards (1849), Sheila Watt-Cloutier (1953), and Autumn Peltier (2004).

Canadian born Social Activists

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