Norman Bethune, Commemorating a Communist

Henry Norman Bethune (1890-1939): Surgeon, communist, humanitarian.

Henry Norman Bethune was born in Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada, on 3 March 1890. His father was a Presbyterian minister from a long family line of clergymen, educators and medical practitioners, while his mother was an evangelical missionary. The family badge of service and his father’s exhortation to “always go where you’re needed ” left an indelible mark on young Bethune, influencing his event...

Norman Bethune: Gifted Surgeon and a Strange Idealist.

Norman Bethune: his contributions to medicine and to CMAJ.

T his month marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Norman Bethune's death. A new movie about his life, the most expensive Canadian film ever made, will soon be in the theatres. It was to have been released earlier, but there are reports it has been delayed by a script-related battle involving the lead actor, Donald Sutherland, and one of the writers, Ted Allan. Allan served with Bethune during the S...

Henry Dunant and Norman Bethune: a Canadian surgeon who worked with H. Dunant at the Battle of Solferino.

Following a description of both scenarios involved in the Battle of Solferino (1859), and the consequent horrors which spurred Henry Dunant to set up the International Red Cross organisation, for which he received the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, the present paper discusses the meeting between Henry Dunant and the Canadian surgeon Norman Bethune (1822-1892). During the days immediately afte...

Commemorating Misadventures, Celebrating Collaborations

as some say, an incurable and infectious disease.” ―Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote F the first half of the 20th century, Spanish artist Pablo Picasso dominated the art world in a great variety of creative styles and forms, creating more than 20,000 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, and other works. His widely recognized and now iconic black and white sketch of Don Quixote prov...