Fonds P129 - Michael Bliss Fonds

Michael Bliss entered University College at University of Toronto in 1958, receiving his BA, MA and PhD from the University before joining the Faculty of Arts & Science in the department of history as a professor. He later moved to U of T’s Faculty of Medicine. He was awarded University Professor, was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a member of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. He was made a Member of The Order of Canada in 1998 and was promoted to Officer in 2013.

He wrote several prize-winning books in Canadian and medical history. His list of publications includes: The Discovery of Insulin (1982), Frederick Banting: A Biography (1984), William Osler: A Life in Medicine (1999) and Harvey Cushing: A Life in Surgery (2005). He authored 14 books on business, politics and medicine. He wrote the Governor General’s Award–nominated Plague: A Story of Smallpox in Montreal (1991). Bliss also wrote business books, including A Canadian Millionaire: the Life and Business Times of Sir Joseph Flavelle (1978), and a first history of business in Canada, Northern Enterprise (1987).