Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell, KCMG (February 28, 1865-October 9, 1940) was a medical missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador. The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George Prince Regent (later George Events 202 BC - coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty 's rule Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 768 - Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A missionary is a member of a Religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith someone who proselytizes. Newfoundland — ˈn(jufənˌlænd (Terre-Neuve Talamh an Éisc — is a large island 15 km off the east coast of Modern Labrador Just like its island neighbour Newfoundland early settlement in Labrador was tied to the sea as demonstrated by the Montagnais, Innu and
He was born at Parkgate, Wirral and married Anne Elizabeth Caldwell MacClanahan of Chicago, Illinois in 1909. Parkgate is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, in the part that remains in Cheshire, in the North West of England. Wirral or the Wirral (ˈwɪrəl is a Peninsula in the north west of England. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. She died in 1938. They had three children and retired to Vermont after his work in Newfoundland. Vermont ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America.
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Medical education and mission work
Grenfell moved to London in 1882. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. He then commenced the study of medicine at the London Hospital Medical College (now part of Queen Mary, University of London) under the tutelage of the great Sir Frederic Treves. Queen Mary University of London (known as Queen Mary and Westfield College until 2000 and still officially named as such in its charter Queen Mary incorporates several He graduated in 1888.
The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen sent Grenfell to Newfoundland in 1892 to improve the plight of coastal inhabitants and fishermen. The Fishermen's Mission - the full title of which is The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen - is a British charitable organisation founded and run on Christian That mission began in earnest in 1893 when he recruited two nurses and two doctors for hospitals, at Indian Harbour, Newfoundland and later opened cottage hospitals along the coast of Labrador. The mission expanded greatly from its initial mandate to one of developing schools, an orphanage, cooperatives, industrial work projects, and social work. Although originally founded to serve the local fishermen the mission developed to include the aboriginal peoples and settlers along the coasts of Labrador and the eastern side of the Great Northern Peninsula of northern Newfoundland. The Great Northern Peninsula is the largest and longest Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland, Canada, approximately 225km long and a width of 80km at For his years of service on behalf of the people of these communities he was later knighted by King George V. He had two sons and a daughter.
International Grenfell Association
By 1994 the mission had gained international status. In order to manage its property and affairs, the International Grenfell Association, a non-profit mission society, was founded to support Grenfell's work. The Association operated, until 1981, as an NGO. It had responsibility for delivery of healthcare and social services in northern Newfoundland and Labrador. After 1981 a governmental agency, The Grenfell Regional Health Services Board, took over the operational responsibility. The International Grenfell Association, having divested itself of all properties and operational responsibility for health and social services, then became a supporting association making grants and funding scholarships for medical training. [[Image:Grenfell. jpg|300px|framed|Statue commemorating Sir Wilfred Grenfell in St. Anthony, Newfoundland.
Historical Society
The Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell Historical Society was formed in 1978. The society purchased Grenfell's home in St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador. St Anthony is a town on the northern reaches of the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador. Newfoundland and Labrador (ˈnuːfɨn(dlənd ən(d ˈlæbrəˌdɔr (Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador is a province of Canada, the tenth and latest to join the Confederation The home has been restored as a museum and archives.
Literary inspiration
A unique figure, Grenfell served to inspire at least two characters in Canadian literature: Dr Luke in Norman Duncan's Doctor Luke of the Labrador (1904) and Dr Tocsin in White Eskimo by Harold Horwood (1972). Norman Duncan ( 2 July 1871 - 8 October 1916) was an author journalist and educator Harold Andrew Horwood CM ( November 2, 1923 &ndash April 16, 2006) was a Newfoundland and Labrador Novelist \
In 1892 he visited Labrador, and he was so greatly shocked by what he later described as 'the poverty and ignorance and semi-starvation among English speaking people of our own race' that he decided to devote the rest of his life to the betterment of the lot of the people of Labrador. In 1893 he established at Battle Harbour the first hospital of what came to be known as the Labrador Medical Mission. ; and as time went on he not only built other hospitals, but he also opened nursing stations, schools, orphanages, and social welfare centres. When, over forty years later, he retired, he had built up an organization that included six hospitals, seven nursing stations, four hospital ships, four boarding schools, fourteen industrial centres, twelve clothing distribution centres, a co-operative lumber mill, and a seaman's institute at St. John's, Newfoundland. What his lifework, , as an example of practical Christianity meant to the people of Labrador, whether whites, or Indians, or Eskimos, it would be difficult to exaggerate.
Awards
- Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George - 1907
- Honorary Doctorate of Medicine, Oxford University – 1907 (first ever granted)
- Murchison Prize, Royal Geographical Society - 1911 (awarded the for his charts of Labrador)
- Knighthood - 1927 (recognition of medical, educational and social work)
- Honorary Knight for Life, Loyal Knights of the Round Table, Fifth Rank - 1928 (for great service to humanity)
- Induction into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame - 1997
In 1979, the Corner Brook campus of Memorial University of Newfoundland was renamed Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in his honour. The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George Prince Regent (later George The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the History Founding members of the Society include Sir John Barrow, Sir John Franklin and Francis Beaufort. The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is a Canadian charitable organization founded in 1994 that honours Canadians who have contributed to the understanding of disease and improving Memorial University of Newfoundland, (colloquially known as Memorial University or "MUN") is a comprehensive university located primarily in St Sir Wilfred Grenfell College ( SWGC) popularly referred to as Grenfell College, is a Canadian liberal arts and science university located in
External links
- Grenfell Museum Properties
- International Grenfell Association
- Grenfell Photo Exhibit
- Town of St. Anthony - Grenfell's Town
- Works by Wilfred Grenfell available from Project Gutenberg
| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by Fridtjof Nansen |
Rector of the University of St Andrews 1928 - 1931 |
Succeeded by Field Marshal Jan Smuts |
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