Mabel Frances Timlin was born in Forest Junction, Wisconsin on December 6, 1891. She attended Normal School in Wisconsin and taught for 10 years at various schools in Wisconsin and Saskatchewan, prior to accepting a position as a secretary at the University of Saskatchewan in 1921. Taking a few classes a year, she earned a BA in 1929 and then completed her PhD in 1940 from the University of Washington during summer sessions. Timlin began lecturing in Economics at the University of Saskatchewan in 1935. She was promoted to full Professor in 1950 and retired in 1959. Timlin was the first tenured female Economics professor at a Canadian university. Timlin was an authority on Keynesian economic theory, monetary policy, and immigration. Among her many publications were "Keynesian Economics" (1942) and "Does Canada Need More People?" (1951). Following her retirement, the Canada Council granted her a special Fellowship to study Canadian immigration. Later, she was appointed research assistant with the Social Science Research Council of Canada and co-authored "The Social Sciences in Canada: Two Studies" (1968). She was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, first woman president of the Canadian Political Science Association, and a member of the Order of Canada. Timlin was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Saskatchewan in 1969. Timlin died in Saskatoon on September 20, 1976 at the age of 84.