Hampton John Peters Humphrey Foundation
The Foundation Members’ mission is to provide an ongoing tribute to John Peters Humphrey by educating individuals of all ages about his life and accomplishments; to provide a venue to learn about Humphrey and his work; and to educate people about human rights issues.
John Peters Humphrey was born in the Village of Hampton on April 30th 1905. His father died while John was just an infant. When he was six, he suffered serious burns as the result of an accident, which led to the amputation of his left arm. He attended Hampton Consolidated School until his mother died when he was eleven years old.
Perhaps his painful childhood was the inspiration for his lifelong compassion for his fellow man. After establishing a career at the McGill Faculty of Law, in 1946 John was appointed the first Director of the United Nations Human Rights Division.
In 1947 he was asked by Eleanor Roosevelt, the Chair of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, to compose what was to become the original draft of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The final version was adopted by the United Nations on December 10th 1948, and Eleanor Roosevelt stated that the Universal Declaration might well become known as “a Magna Carta for all of Mankind”.
Today, it remains the world’s most important document on human rights.
Go to the John Peters Humphrey Foundation Website for further information.
P.O. Box 1152, Hampton, New Brunswick Canada E5N 8H2