The Great Stork Derby: A Millionaire's Bizarre Baby Contest
On October 31, 1926, Charles Vance Millar, a prominent lawyer from Toronto, passed away. His will sparked a unique competition known as the Great Stork Derby, where the woman in Toronto who bore the most children in the subsequent decade would inherit his fortune. Despite governmental objections, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the contest. During the Great Depression, more than twenty families engaged in the challenge. The final count concluded on October 31, 1936, with four women—Annie Smith, Kathleen Nagle, Lucy Timleck, and Isabel Maclean—each delivering nine children and receiving $75,000 after extensive legal disputes.
Key facts
- Charles Vance Millar died on October 31, 1926, leaving a will that created the Great Stork Derby.
- The contest awarded the remainder of Millar's estate to the Toronto woman with the most children in ten years.
- The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the contest as legal.
- Rules: children had to be born in Toronto, within marriage, and not stillborn.
- The prize reached about $1 million by the end, equivalent to about $21 million today.
- Four women tied with nine children each: Annie Katherine Smith, Kathleen Ellen Nagle, Lucy Alice Timleck, and Isabel Mary Maclean.
- Each winner received $75,000 after two years of litigation.
- Lillian Kenny and Pauline Mae Clark received $12,500 settlements after suing.
Entities
Artists
- Charles Vance Millar
- Lillian Kenny
- Grace Bagnato
- Pauline Mae Clark
- Annie Katherine Smith
- Kathleen Ellen Nagle
- Lucy Alice Timleck
- Isabel Mary Maclean
- Elizabeth Wilton
Institutions
- Supreme Court of Canada
- University of Toronto
- Dalhousie University
- O'Keefe Brewing Company
- Toronto Public Library
Locations
- Toronto
- Canada
- Aylmer
- Ontario
- Jamaica
- Corbeil
- Italy