Dr. Moe Hegby Fred Friedman, originally from Montreal, received his B.Sc. in 1930 and his Ph.D. in physiology in 1937 from McGill University. He was a student of Dr. Boris P. Babkin. Professor Babkin was a student and friend of Russian physiologist I. P. Pavlov, 1849-1936. Babkin published a biography of his famous professor entitled Pavlov: A Biography, University of Chicago Press, 1949. Dr. Friedman helped edit the biography by reducing the size of the manuscript. After receiving his Ph.D., Dr Friedman joined the faculty of Wayne State University Medical College in Detroit. He later became Professor Emeritus of Physiology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. After retiring from Jefferson in 1974, he became Visiting Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he taught until 1995. He was founding president of the Philadelphia branch of the McGill Alumni Society.

A native of Montréal, Norman Friedman graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1921. He worked for insurance and phonograph companies, and in later life was vice-president of Allen's (a candy manufacturer) and partner in Friedman Brothers (wholesale clothiers). His avocation was collecting, particularly first editions of Leacock and Kipling; a number of his books were donated to the McGill University Library.