Background
Riddell was born in Hamilton Township, Ontario and attended Cobourg Grammar School and Victoria College.
Riddell was born in Hamilton Township, Ontario and attended Cobourg Grammar School and Victoria College.
He was called to the bar in 1883, and conducted a law practice in Cobourg until he moved to Toronto in 1893. Riddell was appointed as judge to the Supreme Court of Ontario in 1906. As a historian, he published numerous works of legal, medical and social history, including biographies of William Kirby and John Graves Simcoe.
Riddell died in Toronto in 1945.