Mary Quayle Innis

Mary Quayle Innis
Born(1899-04-13)April 13, 1899
St. Marys, Ohio, United States
DiedJanuary 10, 1972(1972-01-10) (aged 72)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
OccupationNovelist, short story writer, editor, researcher, historian
Notable worksAn Economic History of Canada
SpouseHarold Innis
ChildrenFour, including Anne Innis Dagg and Donald Quayle Innis

Mary Emma Quayle Innis (April 13, 1899 – January 10, 1972) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer and author of historical works including An Economic History of Canada; three illustrated books for children about the country's founding; a history of the Canadian YMCA; and, Travellers West, an account of three 19th century expeditions across western Canada. In addition, she researched and edited several books about women and Canadian history including a scholarly edition of Mrs. Simcoe's Diary, kept from 1791 to 1796, by Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe, the wife of John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada.:132–138

Innis worked with her husband, the Canadian economic historian Harold Innis, helping to edit his books for publication. She also contributed ideas that may have influenced his later work especially on the role of communications media in shaping civilizations. After his death in 1952, she helped edit and revise four of his works. For the second edition of Empire and Communications in 1972, she incorporated Innis's marginal notes in the footnotes, tracing and attributing quotations and expanding references.:138–141

Innis served as Dean of Women at the University of Toronto's University College from 1955 to 1964.

She received an honorary doctorate from Queen's University in 1958 and another from the University of Waterloo in 1965.