Dr. Harris F. Dunsford’s book, The Pathogenetic Effects of some of the principal Homœopathic Remedies, belongs to the William C. Gibson History of Medicine and Science Collection in the Rare Books and Special Collections library at the University of British Columbia. It was likely purchased from Dr. Hugh Sinclair with grant money from the generous Dr. H. R. MacMillan and the MacMillan Family Fund.
H. Sinclair Collection
As per a notice on the inside front cover of Dr. Dunsford’s book, the text is also a member of the H. Sinclair Collection.
Dr. Hugh Sinclair (1910-1990)
The collection is named for Dr. Hugh Sinclair, a nutritionist who was also a lecturer in physiology and biochemistry at Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1966, Dr. Sinclair sold an assortment of books and manuscripts to the University of British Columbia, including Dr. Harris F. Dunsford’s book. Additional materials also belonging to the H. Sinclair Collection include two collections of letters written to and by Charles Darwin.
H. R. MacMillan
Harvey Reginald MacMillan, a Canadian forester, forestry industrialist, wartime administrator, and philanthropist, was born in Pine Orchard, Ontario in 1885. He graduated from Ontario Agricultural College with an honours degree in biology in 1906 before earning a Master of Science degree in Forestry at Yale University in 1908.
Harvey Reginal MacMillan (1885-1976)
Upon his appointment as Chief Forester of British Columbia in 1912, he established the British Columbia Forest Service and served as Assistant Director of the Imperial Munitions Board through WWI. In 1919, MacMillan established the first privately-owned lumber export brokerage firm in BC, which he named the H. R. MacMillan Export Company.
Following the establishment and success of his company, MacMillan was elected Chairman of the Vancouver Board Trade in 1933. Upon the arrival of WWII, he served as Timber Controller, Chairman of the Wartime Requirements Board, and President of Wartime Merchant Shipping Ltd. In honour of his many efforts, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
In 1951, the H. R. MacMillan Export Company merged with Bloedel, Stewart and Welch Ltd. to create MacMillan Bloedel Limited. MacMillan was eventually appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1970, receiving honorary degrees from Simon Fraser University, the University of Toronto, University of Guelph, Carleton University, as well as the University of British Columbia.
A Report of the President of the University of British Columbia from the year 1964-1965 expresses much gratitude for Dr. H. R. MacMillan and the MacMillan Family Fund’s generous donation to the University. In the form of two grants totalling almost $7 million, Dr. MacMillan’s donation was presented as perhaps the “most generous ever made to graduate education” in Canada.
The William C. Gibson History of Medicine and Science Collection
The William C. Gibson History of Medicine and Science Collection contains 5610 titles of rare and historical medical texts ranging from the Works of Aristotle to treatises on opium. The collection was named for Dr. William C. Gibson in the year 1988 to recognize his efforts as the first Head of UBC’s Division of the History of Medicine and Science between the years 1959 and 1978. During his time as the Head of History of Medicine and Science Dr. Gibson created the historical book collection, which later was named after him.
Dr. William Carleton Gibson
Dr. William Carleton Gibson was born into a scholarly family in Ottawa before moving to British Columbia as a young boy. Growing up, Gibson’s family traveled frequently for studies and teaching assignments in Canada and overseas. He received his bachelor of arts degree at the University of British Columbia in 1933 along with a master of science and MD degree from McGill and a Dphil (an abbreviation for Doctorate in Philosophy; equivalent to a PhD) from Oxford University.
Throughout his life, Dr. Gibson contributed to a number of worthy medical, academic, educational, social, civic, environmental, and humanistic causes through his close ties with the University of Victoria, the University of British Columbia and Oxford University, as well as his work under Penfield at the Montreal Neurological Institute. Dr. Gibson also served as a councillor for the Welcome Foundation in London and was a member of the Neurological Science Panel for the World Health Organization, where he later became an honorary member of the Medical Society. Dr. Gibson was eventually made a life fellow at Oxford University, where he helped develop Green College.