Ray Farquharson

Ray Farquharson

Ray Fletcher Farquharson, MBE, was a Canadian doctor, university professor, and medical researcher. With co-researcher Arthur Squires, he was responsible for the discovery of the FarquHarson phenomenon. He served in the First and Second World Wars. He was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 1998.

About Ray Farquharson in brief

Summary Ray FarquharsonRay Fletcher Farquharson, MBE, was a Canadian doctor, university professor, and medical researcher. With co-researcher Arthur Squires, he was responsible for the discovery of the FarquHarson phenomenon. He served in the First and Second World Wars, earning appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his medical work during the latter. He was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 1998. He died in 1965, leaving a wife and two daughters. 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. He also served on the first Board of Governors of York University, and was the first president of the Medical Research Council of Canada. He published papers on the excretion of calcium in response to excessive acid in the body, and liver therapy as a treatment for spinal cord degeneration. His Report led to the establishment of the medical research council, of which he was first president. He chaired the Penicillin Committee of Canada and served as a medical consultant for the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. For his service in the war, Farqarson was appointed a Member.

of the Queen’s Coronation Medal in 1953 for his work for the Defence Review Board. He later became involved in the care and treatment of war veterans, and supervised medical experiments involving penicillin therapy in Ontario hospitals in 1943–44. In 1946 he was temporarily appointed Director of Medicine at Christie Veteran Hospital in Toronto. His son Charles also served in both world wars and was director of medicine for veterans’ medicine at Christie St. Vincent’s Hospital. He had two daughters: Helen, who became a hematologist, and Catherine Jane, who was a nurse. He married Christina Jane Fraser, with whom he had two children: Helen and Catherine. He is buried in Toronto, Ontario, with his wife, who died in 1998, and his two daughters, Catherine Jane and Helen. He received numerous honorary degrees from Canadian universities and was a charter member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and served on its council from 1939 to 1943. Farqharson was awarded research fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital, and at Harvard University before becoming an assistant professor at the University of Toronto.