“Noted Surgeon, Fine Citizen”: The Life of Archibald E Malloch, MD 1844–1919 Charles G. Roland

Abstract

This book concerns two generations of physicians: Archibald Malloch, his son Thomas Archibald and their famous colleagues Joseph Lister and William Osler. A century ago, they lived through times of great change in medicine and in society. A study of their lives would be instructive for this alone as changes loom large once again. This thoroughly researched and well written book, the last by the late Charles Roland, has even more value because the title's epithet could as easily be applied to the author, who was both a noted physician and a fine citizen, as it is to Malloch père. From a log cabin in northern Manitoba, via the University of Toronto and the Manitoba Medical College, to general practice in southern Ontario, Roland actually lived the growth of Canada in the 20th century, just as the Mallochs experienced its sometimes painful early development. Roland left Ontario in 1964 to become an editor with the Journal of the American Medical Association and later Chair of the Department of Biomedical Communications at the Mayo Clinic. Whether or not it was his fondness for Osler studies that led Roland to McMaster University in 1977, as the first Hannah Professor in the History of Medicine, we cannot say, but the situation was fortunate because it brought him to the home ground of the Mallochs and the Oslers. Roland's academic career was as noted for its scholarship as he was known for generous collaboration and gentle mentorship, features he shared with the subjects of his book. It is poignant for the reviewers to look upon photographs of Archibald Malloch Sr. in kind old age and see reminders of his sadly missed biographer. Archibald Malloch (1844-1919) grew up in Brockville, Ontario and attended university in Kingston before going to Glasgow in Scotland to complete his medical education (1867). Canada watched anxiously as large armies demobilized south of its border while its leaders, most of whom were known personally to the Mallochs, set about the task of building a new country. Documentary gaps in Malloch's story are expertly filled by the author with a comprehensive picture of life at that time just as the description of Malloch's education at Queens' University is enriched by the author's detailed knowledge of medical education and examination during that period. Malloch's professor of anatomy, Dr. Michael Sullivan, sought to improve the standard required for practice in Ontario. As Chief Examiner, he brought a cadaver on the train from Kingston to Toronto and questioned candidates on material not available in Gray's textbook.