Dundas in Hamilton, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

Sir William Osler in Canada

Photographed by Tim Boyd, April 21, 2023

1. Sir William Osler in Canada Marker

Inscription.

Sir William Osler in Canada. . [text of metal inset plaque], 1849 Sir William Osler 1949 Erected by the Hamilton Academy of Medicine to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Sir William Osler Bart., . [text of main plaque], Sir William Osler in Canada, William Osler's father, Rev. Featherstone Lake Osler, and his wife Ellen Osler (nee Picton) sailed for Canada in 1837, arriving in the remote Anglican parish of Bond Head on the day Victoria became Queen. Conditions were rough in their two-room hut, where they would have 9 children, William the youngest boy. Originally named "Walter”, the family was visited on the day of his birth, July 12 1849, by Orangemen on parade. Featherstone held up his newborn to shouts of ‘William!’, and the boy was renamed., The Anglican Diocese transferred the Oslers to St. James, Dundas, were the family would have a school to send the children. Ellen and her three youngest were to make the journey on the Great Western, March 12 1857, but William's croup fortuitously delayed them. The train that day collapsed the bridge into Hamilton. Fifty-nine persons died in the ‘Desjardins Rail Disaster’, but the future ‘father of modern medicine’ was not among them., The children attended Dundas Grammar School, where William's ’pranksterism' began. He first locked a gaggle of geese in the classroom, and later hoisted the benches and desks into the attic. Upon jeering his teacher's use of a Latin 'cheat-sheet", William was expelled, cheerfully telling his sister 'I got the sack"! Practical jokes continued throughout his life., William's scientific interest began in Dundas. At 19, William's first published work was on the microscopy of life in water from the Desjardins Canal. His first case in medicine, was also in Dundas in 1874, treating an eye malady for 50 cents. Local doctors whose influence he later acknowledged included Charles O'Reilly (Hamilton's first Medical Officer of Health), John Mullin, and Archibald Malloch, a pioneer in antiseptic surgery. Mullin and Malloch would later visit world famous 'Saint Osler' in Baltimore, where he was one of the four founding physicians of John's Hopkins School of Medicine., The metal plaque was originally located at 286 Victoria Avenue North, when that property was home to the Hamilton Academy of Medicine.

[text of metal inset plaque]

1849 Sir William Osler 1949
Erected by the Hamilton Academy of Medicine
to commemorate the hundredth anniversary
of the birth of
Sir William Osler
Bart.

[text of main plaque]

Sir William Osler in Canada

William Osler's father, Rev. Featherstone Lake Osler, and his wife Ellen Osler (nee Picton) sailed for Canada in 1837, arriving in the remote Anglican parish of Bond Head on the day Victoria became Queen. Conditions were rough in their two-room hut, where they would have 9 children, William the youngest boy. Originally named "Walter”, the family was visited on the day of his birth, July 12 1849, by Orangemen on parade. Featherstone held up his newborn to shouts of ‘William!’, and the boy was renamed.

The Anglican Diocese transferred the Oslers to St. James, Dundas, were the family would have a school to send the children. Ellen and her three youngest were to make the journey on the Great Western, March 12 1857, but William's croup fortuitously delayed them. The train that day collapsed the bridge into Hamilton. Fifty-nine persons died in the ‘Desjardins Rail Disaster’, but the future ‘father of modern medicine’ was not among them.

The children attended Dundas Grammar School, where William's

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’pranksterism' began. He first locked a gaggle of geese in the classroom, and later hoisted the benches and desks into the attic. Upon jeering his teacher's use of a Latin 'cheat-sheet", William was expelled, cheerfully telling his sister 'I got the sack"! Practical jokes continued throughout his life.

William's scientific interest began in Dundas. At 19, William's first published work was on the microscopy of life in water from the Desjardins Canal. His first case in medicine, was also in Dundas in 1874, treating an eye malady for 50 cents. Local doctors whose influence he later acknowledged included Charles O'Reilly (Hamilton's first Medical Officer of Health), John Mullin, and Archibald Malloch, a pioneer in antiseptic surgery. Mullin and Malloch would later visit world famous 'Saint Osler' in Baltimore, where he was one of the four founding physicians of John's Hopkins School of Medicine.

The metal plaque was originally located at 286 Victoria Avenue North, when that property was home to the Hamilton Academy of Medicine.

Erected by City of Hamilton.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Science & Medicine. A significant historical date for this entry is July 12, 1849.

Location. 43° 15.701′ N, 79° 56.732′ W. Marker is in Hamilton, Ontario. It is in Dundas. It is

Photographed by Tim Boyd, April 21, 2023

2. Sir William Osler in Canada Marker

at the intersection of Osler Drive and Ancaster Street East, on the right when traveling west on Osler Drive. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hamilton ON L9H 4K2, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe,

in the Hamilton-Halton-Brant Area,

and specifically in the Toronto Metropolitan Area.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Sir William Osler, Bart. (within shouting distance of this marker); The Founding of Dundas (approx. half a kilometer away); The History of the Desjardins Canal (approx. half a kilometer away); The History of the Turning Basin (approx. half a kilometer away); The Desjardins Canal (approx. half a kilometer away); Martha Cartmell and Toyo Eiwa Jogakuin (approx. half a kilometer away); Canadair CT-133 Silver Star (approx. 0.6 kilometers away); The Dundas Town Hall (approx. 0.6 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hamilton.

Also see . . . Sir William Osler. The Canadian Encyclopedia website entry (Submitted on January 25, 2025, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

Additional keywords. hybrid marker

Sir William Osler in Canada Marker (detail top left) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Boyd, April 21, 2023

3. Sir William Osler in Canada Marker (detail top left)

Sir William Osler in Canada Marker (detail top right) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Boyd, April 21, 2023

4. Sir William Osler in Canada Marker (detail top right)

Sir William Osler on a 1969 stamp in honour of the 50th anniversary of his death. image. Click for full size.

5. Sir William Osler on a 1969 stamp in honour of the 50th anniversary of his death.

Design: George Sarras Fanais, Image source: McGill University, Maude Abbott Medical Museum

Credits. This page was last revised on January 25, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 23, 2023, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 590 times since then and 59 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on April 23, 2023, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.