In 1924, Amy Redpath Roddick donated the Roddick Gates to McGill University in memory of her late husband, Sir Thomas George Roddick, a renowned doctor and dean of McGill's Faculty of Medicine from 1901 to 1908. Amy Redpath Roddick (May 16, 1868 – February 16, 1954) was the first-born child and only daughter of Ada Mills and John James Redpath. She became the second wife of Thomas Roddick on September 3, 1906.
Amy Redpath Roddick commissioned Grattan D. Thompson (1895–1971) to carry out the work on the monument.[1] In 1922, Gratton D. Thompson had married Elizabeth Grace Redpath.
The Roddick Gates were formally opened by Amy Redpath Roddick on May 28, 1925. There are other significant buildings at McGill University that bear the Redpath family name, including the Redpath Library and the Redpath Museum.
Since April 2024, daily pro-Palestine protests have taken place at Roddick Gates in connection with the McGill student encampment. Since the dismantlement of the encampment the protests have been led by Samar Alkhdour.[4]