Norman Bethune

Henry Norman Bethune (1890-1939) was a unique Canadian. He was also a teacher, and a tireless and inventive surgeon. His medical advances and techniques saved many lives. He gave his time and his talents in an effort to bring healing into a suffering world. For the thousands of people he served in Canada, the United States, Span and China, Norman Bethune has been a shining example of the Canadian spirit.

Norman Bethune married Frances Penny, a young Scottish woman in 1923. After completing studies in Europe, Bethune and Frances moved to Detroit where Bethune set up his medical Practice. Between 1929 and 1936, Dr. Bethune invented over a dozen medical and surgical instruments in Montreal. He also advocated socialized medicine and formed the Montreal Group for the Security of People's Health to provide proper health care to those who needed it most. Bethune was a complex, volatile man. His interests were not only medical and political, but also literary and artistic. He created a free art school for children in Montreal.

Bethune left Canada to serve as a doctor in the Spanish Civil War in 1936. In Madrid, he did pioneering work with blood transfusions and set up the world's first mobile medical unit. On January 2, 19

. . .

View the whole essay, without interruption

1915 Served as a stretcher bearer in France

1918 Enlisted in British Navy

1929 Moved to Montreal to study thoracic surgery

1929-1936 Developed or modified 12 new surgical instruments

1934 Became Chief Thoracic surgeon at l'hopital du Sacre-Coeur

1935 Toured Russia looking at hospitals and sanatoriums

1935 Joined the Communist Party of Canada

1936 Formed the Children's Art School of Montreal

1936 Formed the Montreal Group for the Security of People's Health

1936 Arrived in Madrid, Spain to help fight the fascists in the Spanish Civil War

1937 Returned to Canada from Spain

1938 Left Canada for China to help in the Sino-Japanese War

1939 Died at Huang Shiko (Nov. Bethune's life and actions have had a tremendous impact all over the world. Frances traveled with Bethune as he studied medicine in Vienna, Paris, and Berlin before moving to Detroit to set up the medical practice. (Stewart, The Canadians: Norman Bethune 16) After he recovered and cured, Bethune left Trudeau for Montreal to study thoracic surgery. In his famouse article, “In Memory of Dr. Norman Bethune’s death, because of his communist ties, the Canadian government did not recognize him as a hero until 1972, when Canada established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. (Nader, 63) Bethune, known as Bai Quien to the Chinese, wrote some 20 articles in China, including “The Technique and Organization of a Field Hospital” (Smith 71). He made bandages from the Canadians’ scant supply of cotton.

Montreal Years

Upon completion of his studies, in January of 1929, Bethune was accepted at the Royal Victoria Hospital and move to Montreal to study thoracic surgery under Dr. Bethune were taught in our elementary school.

Approximate Word count = 2455
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)

Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.