Ray Farquharson Ray Fletcher Farquharson MBE ( 4 August 1897 – 1 June 1965 ) was a Canadian doctor , university professor , and medical researcher . Born in Claude , Ontario , he attended and taught at the University of Toronto for most of his life , and was trained and employed at Toronto General Hospital . With co - researcher Arthur Squires , Farquharson was responsible for the discovery of the Farquharson phenomenon , an important principle of endocrinology . He served in the First and Second World War s , earning appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his medical work during the latter . He chaired the Penicillin Committee of Canada and served as a medical consultant for the Royal Canadian Air Force . He was awarded the Queen ' s Coronation Medal in 1953 for his work for the Defence Review Board . Farquharson was also a charter member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada . Farquharson was heavily involved in Canadian medical research and education . As a member of the National Research Council of Canada , his " Farquharson Report " led to the establishment of the Medical Research Council of Canada , of which he was the first president . He received numerous honorary degrees from Canadian universities , and served on the first Board of Governors of York University . He died in 1965 , leaving a wife and two daughters . Farquharson was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 1998 . Early life and education . Farquharson was born in Claude , Ontario ( a small town northwest of Toronto ) , on 4 August 1897 to Reverend William Farquharson , a Presbyterian minister , and Annie McDonald Coutts . His brother Charles also became a doctor , while another brother , Robert , became the managing editor for " The Globe and Mail " and was later an advisor at the Canadian Embassy to the United States . " Farquy " , as he was nicknamed by friends , received his early education at Durham and graduated from Harbord Collegiate Institute in Toronto . He briefly attended the University of Toronto ' s medical school before being drafted into the Canadian Army on 15 May 1918 , serving in the Canadian Field Artillery ( 67th Battery ) as a gunner . He did not serve overseas , and was recalled from the military to complete his schooling , graduating in 1922 . He underwent post - graduate study in various fields from 1922 until 1927 while serving as an intern and resident at Toronto General Hospital under Duncan Graham . Farquharson was awarded research fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital , where he worked with Joseph Aub and William Salter , and at Harvard University before becoming an assistant professor at the University of Toronto . He published papers on the excretion of calcium in response to excessive acid in the body and " liver therapy " ( the consumption of liver ) as a treatment for spinal cord degeneration . In 1931 he married Christina Jane Fraser , with whom he had two daughters : Helen , who became a hematologist , and Catherine Jane . Career . In addition to teaching at the University of Toronto , Farquharson established a private practice as a medical consultant , gaining a reputation as a " doctor ' s doctor " for his treatment of other physicians . In 1934 he became the head of the therapeutics department at Toronto . He continued to publish research findings on various topics , including anorexia nervosa . Farquharson was a charter member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada , which oversaw all Canadian postgraduate medical education ; he served on its council from 1939 to 1943 , and was the council ' s president from 1945 to 1947 . Prior to enlisting in the Second World War , he gave testimony as an expert medical witness in court martial trials . On 25 August 1943 , Farquharson enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force ( RCAF ) and was assigned to No . 1 Air Command , based in Trenton , Ontario . He was posted to the United Kingdom in 1944 and briefly returned to No . 1 Air Command before being released from service on 22 November 1945 with the rank of wing commander . During the war , he chaired the Penicillin Committee of Canada , which regulated the distribution of penicillin ( an antibiotic that largely replaced the sulfonamide used earlier in the war ) to the armed forces , and was a consultant to the RCAF ' s Director of Medical Services . He was also consulted on medical matters by both the other branches of the Canadian armed forces and by various Allied medical groups . He supervised medical experiments involving penicillin therapy conducted in Ontario hospitals in 1943 – 44 , and was temporarily appointed Director of Medicine at Christie St . Veteran ' s Hospital in Toronto . After V - E Day , he travelled to Belgium to supervise the administration of penicillin therapy , and later became involved in the care and treatment of war veterans . For his service in the war , Farquharson was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in January 1946 . His brother Charles also served in both world wars . Farquharson was the director of medicine for Toronto veterans ' hospitals from 1945 to 1947 , and at the same time served as president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada . In 1947 he was appointed to the Sir John and Lady Eaton Professor of Medicine chair at the University of Toronto . From 1947 until his retirement in 1960 , he was the Physician - in - Chief of the Toronto General Hospital . His well - known patients included Canadian politician George A . Drew , who he advised to resign as head of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and Leader of the Opposition following a near - fatal attack of meningitis ; Drew did so , and was succeeded as party leader by John Diefenbaker , who later became Prime Minister of Canada . Farquharson established clinical teaching programs at Women ' s College Hospital and Sunnybrook Hospital , and expanded those already in place at St . Michael ' s and Toronto Western . He also appointed the first full - time clinical investigators to the Toronto medical school faculty and increased total faculty numbers from 40 to over 100 . He became a Fellow of the American College of Physicians in 1947 and of the Royal College of Physicians in 1950 . He was appointed a member of the Bacteriological Warfare Review Committee , established in 1950 by the Defence Research Board ( of which he was a member from 1949 to 1952 ) and chaired by Dr . Charles Best . For his service to the nation , he was awarded the Queen ' s Coronation Medal in 1953 . Through his research in endocrinology with colleague Arthur Squires , Farquharson discovered what became known as the " Farquharson Phenomenon " : that the introduction of continuous exogenous hormone doses suppresses the natural production of that hormone in the patient and causes temporary atrophy in the producing organ . This phenomenon became one of the basic principles of endocrinology and a key factor in the etiology of hormonal abnormalities . Farquharson also made significant contributions related to anemia and pigment metabolism . He was the first Canadian doctor to publicize Sheehan ' s syndrome , and the first North American to report on Simmond ' s disease . As an educator and researcher , he was an early promoter of laboratory testing in the evaluation of illness ; he was known for advocating both this and awareness of potential psychological issues in patients . Farquharson became a member of the National Research Council of Canada in 1951 , and in 1957 was named the director of the Division of Medical Research . In 1958 , he chaired a Privy Council Committee tasked with producing a report on the state of medical research in Canada ; this charge was in response to a 1957 report by the Association of Canadian Medical Colleges to the Prime Minister , which suggested that medical research in Canada was underfunded . While researching his report , he visited the Soviet Union in 1959 as part of a contingent representing the Research Council ; he remarked on the country ' s apparent emphasis on scientific research , and invited Soviet scientists to visit Canada . Farquharson concluded that existing government support for research in Canada failed to specifically address medical research as an independent discipline and was financially insufficient . His " Farquharson Report " led to the formation of the Medical Research Council of Canada in 1960 , over which he presided until his death . As president , Farquharson advocated for progressive medical education taught by practicing physicians and for continuing education via research for doctors . He was also able to increase the organization ' s budget for awards and grants from C $ 4 million in 1963 to $ 9 million by 1965 . Farquharson became the Regent of the American College of Physicians in 1958 after having spent three years as the organization ' s Ontario representative . He joined the first Board of Governors of York University in 1959 , and was a member of the University of Toronto Senate in the same year . He was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1960 . He was also a member of a number of medical organizations in both Canada and the US , and chairman or board member for some 20 medical research groups . Retirement and legacy . In 1960 , having reached the University of Toronto ' s compulsory retirement age , Farquharson left the university and the hospital . In recognition of his work for Toronto General Hospital , the twelve - bed Clinical Investigation Unit was named after him in 1961 , and the Farquharson Foundation was established to support research conducted by the university ' s teaching hospitals . Also in 1961 , Farquharson visited India , later remarking on the societal respect for doctors there . He also continued to advocate for support for universities . Farquharson won the National Heart Foundation ' s Award of Merit in 1960 , followed by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers ' Association of Canada Health Research Foundation ' s Medal of Honour in 1964 " for his clinical assessment of antibiotics [ and ] service as a leading medical educator " , becoming one of only 18 people to ever receive this award . He was featured on the cover of " Modern Medicine " in November 1963 . Farquharson was granted honorary degrees by a number of Canadian universities : the University of British Columbia in 1949 , the University of Saskatchewan in 1957 , Laval University in 1959 , Queen ' s University in 1960 , the University of Alberta in 1960 , the University of Toronto in 1962 , and the University of Montreal in 1965 . He was named an honorary member of the Ontario Medical Association . He was also appointed a Knight of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in London . Farquharson died on 1 June 1965 at Ottawa Civic Hospital at age 68 after suffering a heart attack . He had been in Ottawa to attend a meeting of the Medical Research Council . The University of Toronto held a memorial service commemorating his contributions to the school and the medical community . The Farquharson Life Sciences Building , the first science building at York University , was renamed in honour of Farquharson . A biography of Farquharson was planned , but was never completed . The Ray F . Farquharson Memorial Lecture was established in his memory ; the first such lecture was delivered by John Eager Howard of Johns Hopkins University in 1968 on the topic of calcium metabolism . He was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 1998 alongside such notable figures as Tommy Douglas , Norman Bethune and Roberta Bondar . Farquharson was credited by Professor William Goldberg of McMaster University with " attack [ ing ] racism as part of [ his ] clinical teaching " because he suggested patient race should only be mentioned if relevant to their diagnosis ; he is also credited with combating anti - Semitism . He is considered one of the " Fathers of Canadian Medicine " in both medical research and education . According to one memorial , " no Canadian since Sir William Osler has left as great an imprint upon the practice of Medicine " .