Evening star., 1919-12-30


Canada in 1S49.
Sir William Osler was one Of the
great men who sprang from Canadian
soil. He was born in the province OF
tinguished of four distinguished sons
of famous mother, the hundredth
anniversary of whose birth was cele-
brated at Toronto on December a.
1906.
His first preceptor was the parish
priest, to whom he acknowledged
his moral and mental Indebtedness
and to whom he inscribed one of his
learned works-'The Practice of Med
icine."
Receiving his medical degree from
McGill University in 1872, DR.. Osler
placed the imprint of his ability on
medical learning to such a marked
degree that within few years he
became an accepted authority in
medical science. His great art lay in
his skill in diagnosis and his pro,
found knowledge of all the parts and
functions of the human body and the
various ills of nature. If such thing
could be, he was specialist In all
departments of medicine.
The late George Murray descrloed
genius" The province OF ontario
characterized him as among the
greatest living Canadians
influence on Other Lives.
No small part of Dr. Oslers work
lay in his directing influence on the
lives of Others. HIS precepts were
broad and sound. Thousands of young
men from all lands came under the
eye of this teacher. and thousands
learned the lessons that the ne sapghs s,1 nj
urged work. so that the temptations
of early or later years might be
avoided. To the youth he said;
'sThere are other affairs than that
of Venus on which to light your hres'
young man-work, lncessaht' haro'
earnest work"
OF DR.. Osler it has been said. "A
more jovial joker, a more epigrammatic
and witty member of society never
made an after-dinner speech"
Perhaps it was because of this that
he gained a reputation in the vast
world which might otherwise-and
lnatura1ly-never have heard of him
as a great physician. In 1905. at the
commemoration- day exercises OF
more. in which he served as professor
Of medicine, DR.. Osler delivered the
address in which he spoke of "the
comparative uselessness of men above
forty years of age"
His words. then spoken without
thought of how far reaching they
would be, passed round the world in
garbed form of every variety. He
1 was quoted as having said in effect
that men past that age were of no
that men who had reached the age of
sixty should be chloroformed.
Issued Statement After Speech.
DR.. Osler remained silent on the
subject for a considerable period. and
then issued a statement in which he
declared:
"I did not say men at sixty should
be chloroformed. That was the point
in the novel to which I referred. and
upon which the plot hinged"
The novel in question was 1.-The
Fixed Period" written by Anthony
Trollope in 1882.
DR.. Osler was criticised by the pub
lie and press generally. and in an
cisms have not shaken my convic-
tions that the telling work of the
world has been done and is done by
men under forty years of age. The
exceptions which have been given
only illustrate the rule.
"1t would be to the general good
IL men at sixty were retired from ac-
tive work. We should miss the en-
ergies of some young-old men. but,
on the whole. it would be of greater
service to the sexagenarii them
selves" 49, y
Nevertheless. and Notwithstanding
his views on this subject. DIR. Osler
himself remained in active practice
until the close of his life. Having
served in Johns Hopkins to 1905, he
was called. at the age of fifty-six, to
oxford University as regius pro-
fessor of medicine. the highest honor
in the bestowal of British instltu-
tions Of learning. For his great
services in medicine he was knighted
George at his coronation in 1911.
During the war he rendered great
services to the empire as organizer
and counselor, and was one or the
leaders in the recent concerted move
ment to bring British medical edu-
cation to the highest plane of thor
oughness.
Son Killed i'm Action.
Tho only son of Sir William Osler.
Lieut., Edward Osler, was killed in
action in 1917.
Sir william Osler was the son of the
late Rev. f. l. Osler. His mother was
born in Kent, England, and emigrated
to Canada with her husband in
1887. She died at the age Of 1O1 years.
Two brothers survive and reside in
Toronto. They are Hon. Featherstone
Osler, president Of the Toronto Cen
eral Trust Corporation and a for
mer judge Of the high court of On
tario, and Sir Edmund Osler. NJ. p.
head of the stock brokerage firm of
Osler & Hammond. A third brother
was the late Britton b. Osler, 4. c.,
leader Of the bar of Ontario and
ono of the most noted pleaders OF his
day.
SouEht Rare Volumes.
BALTIMORE, Decemb ber 30.-One of
DR.. Oslers pet hobbies was touring
the British Isles. This he did regu-
larly during his tenure in the United
states. He had many thoroughly
American ideas, but never lost an iota
of affection for his Britain. In many
III Of his travels he devoted himself to
the pursuit Of rare volumes, and was
known to have travelled months in
tracing down a first edition.
One of his keenest delights was to
rummaRe about in a bOoksbop. He
did this to his hearts content in Lon
don, oxford, Edinburgh and in Phil
adelphia and Baltimore.
II He made friends quickly, and was
always while in Baltimore, interested
in civic Improvement. His particular
hobby was clean streets, and he was a
forceful advocate of improved paw
ing.
Osler Hall, room in the Medical
and Chirurgical Faculty building in
Baltimore, was named in his honor,
upon his departure from this coun-
try.
Last July the Hopkins Bulletin was
issued as an "Osler number" and con-
tanned a notable and Fascinating