The Story of Dr. René Laennec and His Stethoscope
July 12, 2022
Born in 1781 in Brittany, France, Rene Laënnec (1781-1826) was the doctor who invented the stethoscope. … More The Story of Dr. René Laennec and His Stethoscope
Tag: history of health care
The Story of Dr. Leonidas H. Berry and His Gastroscope
July 5, 2022
Born in North Carolina in 1902, Dr. Leonidas Berry was one of the leading gastroenterologists of his time. After working as the first black intern at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, he went on to become a junior attending physician at Chicago’s Provident Hospital, the first American hospital owned and operated by African-Americans. … More The Story of Dr. Leonidas H. Berry and His Gastroscope
Indigenous History Month: Dr. Oronhyatekha
June 21, 2022
Dr. Oronhyatekha, meaning “Burning Sky” or “Burning Cloud”), also known as Peter Martin, a Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk) became one of the first Indigenous persons in Canada to earn a medical degree on May 22, 1867. … More Indigenous History Month: Dr. Oronhyatekha
Indigenous History Month: Dr. Peter Edmund Jones (Kahkewaquonaby)
June 7, 2022
In 1866, Dr. Peter Edmund Jones became North America’s first licensed Indigenous physician after attending medical school at the University of Toronto and Queen’s College (now Queen’s University). He became a strong voice for the rights and health of Indigenous peoples, lobbying the federal government on behalf of Indigenous peoples, and promoting tuberculosis vaccination programs and advocating for public health initiatives. … More Indigenous History Month: Dr. Peter Edmund Jones (Kahkewaquonaby)
The Story of Dr. Harold Tovell and His Love of Art and Medicine
May 31, 2022
Dr. Harold M. Tovell was born in 1887, and is considered one of Toronto’s pioneering radiologists. He was an arts and medical student at the University of Toronto, which was where he met his wife Ruth Lillian Massey through her cousin Vincent Massey, the first Canadian to hold the position of Governor General of Canada. Tovell and Massey were married in 1910 and lived first in New York and then in Munich, where Tovell trained under Dr. Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, the discoverer of x-rays. … More The Story of Dr. Harold Tovell and His Love of Art and Medicine
The Story of Queen Victoria and Canadian Public Health
May 24, 2022
Today would have been Queen Victoria’s 203rd birthday! Victoria Day was established as a holiday in the Province of Canada in 1845, and now is celebrated on the last Monday before May 25th every year in her honour. Queen Victoria impacted Canadian health care practices and the history of Kingston in a number of surprising and fascinating ways! … More The Story of Queen Victoria and Canadian Public Health
The Story of Dr. Frank Mellow and his Electrostatic Generator
May 17, 2022
The name Dr. Frank Ernest Mellow is attached to forty-three different artefacts here at the Museum of Health Care, not the least of which is the massive electrostatic generator currently on display in our “Electricity and the Invisible Ray” gallery! … More The Story of Dr. Frank Mellow and his Electrostatic Generator
The Story of William Conrad Roentgen and his Roentgen Rays
May 10, 2022
Discoverer of the X-ray, William C. Roentgen won the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901 and contributed to over 1000 academic articles and publications. … More The Story of William Conrad Roentgen and his Roentgen Rays
The Story of Dr. Jabez Henry Elliott and his Medical Career
May 3, 2022
grandfather Henry Elliott. Known as a compassionate, good natured man, Dr. Elliott graduated with honours from the University of Toronto in 1897, earning the gold medal and the George Brown Scholarship. … More The Story of Dr. Jabez Henry Elliott and his Medical Career
The Story of Bian Que and his X-ray Vision
April 26, 2022
Bian Que (lived circa 400-200 BCE) is a figure around which many famous tales swirl. Said to be the earliest known physician in Chinese history, the legend goes he raised a prince from a comatose state, foretold the death of a lord who refused treatment for an invisible illness, and even performed a double heart transplant using anaesthesia! … More The Story of Bian Que and his X-ray Vision