Janet (Chisholm) Lee

Janet Robertson (Chisholm) Lee (1862–1940) was an important figure in the Niagara Region of Canada, best known for her role in the formation of the Women's Institutes in 1897, and for pioneering the Kindergarten program in Hamilton, Ontario.

She was educated at the Hamilton Normal School, where she earned her teaching certificate and created the first Kindergarten program in the city.

In 1890 she married Erland Lee, a farmer, government employee, and teacher from Stoney Creek, Ontario.

[1] Janet, her husband Erland Lee, and Adelaide Hoodless[2] are considered the co-founders of the first Women's Institute, presently a worldwide organization originally formed to promote the education of isolated rural women.

Janet Lee is attributed with writing the original Women's Institute constitution on her dining room table, on February 25, 1897.