McGill Library
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H3A 0C9
Letter, December 9, 1916
Item
2 pages
Herbert Alexander Bruce was born on September 28, 1868, in Blackstock, Ontario.
He was a physician, educator, and politician who served as the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (1932-1937). He was educated at the University of Toronto (M.D., 1893), Vienna and Paris. Specializing in surgery, he rose to the top of his profession. In 1911, he founded the Wellesley Hospital in Toronto and became a professor of surgery at the University of Toronto. During World War I, he was appointed Inspector-General of the Canadian Medical Services. He produced the Bruce Report on the Canadian Army Medical Service, a frank criticism of medical care provided to Canadian soldiers serving overseas. The report was disowned by the government, and he was dismissed from his duties. Dedicated to public service, Bruce was appointed the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (1932-1937) and served as the Conservative member of Parliament for Parkdale, Toronto (1940-1946). In 1934, he condemned the state of Toronto's poorer neighbourhoods and was a vocal member of the Opposition during World War II. Bruce championed cancer care in the 1920s, social housing in the 1930s, better health care for the military and veterans, and the introduction of contributory health insurance in the 1940s. His autobiography "Varied Operations" was published in 1958.
In 1919, He married Angela Hall (1895–1982). He died on June 23, 1963, in Toronto, Ontario.
Letter to William Osler from H.A. Bruce, Cecil Chambers, 86 Strand, London, England. Bruce writes of Osler's resignation as the consultant to the Canadian Army Hospitals, which was published in the British Medical Journal. Bruce requests that all the telegrams that passed between himself and Osler in reference to his confidential report be published in the same journal. He asks if Osler has any objection to this being done.
Fragile.
Copy or transcription.
Cushing's colour code: White (correspondence)