James Connor, Ph.D., of Silver Spring, Md., assistant director for collections and curator of the historical collections at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, has received the Chalmers Award from the Champlain Society for his 342-page hardcover book, "Doing Good, The Life of Toronto's General Hospital."
"It is probably one of the best hospital histories we have, and reflects the author's mastery of medical history, institutional history, and Toronto-Ontario history," stated the unanimous citation by a jury of Canadian historians. Sixteen books from five publishers were submitted.
Connor used trustee minutes, medical journals, newspapers, and government reports, along with correspondence, photographs, and reminiscences of trustees, doctors, nurses, and patients. University of Toronto Press published the book in December 2000.
"Over the past 200 years the
Toronto General has evolved into one of the major teaching hospitals in Canada," said Connor, who is a Canadian native and formerly an assistant professor in several faculties at the University of Toronto. "It took me two years to complete the project."
Connor was executive director of the Hannah Institute for the History of Medicine in Toronto from 1992-1997. Prior to that he was curator/archivist of the Medical Museum and Archives at University Hospital in London, Ontario from 1986-1992.
He has been an assistant professor of history at the University of Toronto since 1993 and prior to that was an assistant professor at the University of Western Ontario. He is also currently an associated scholar with the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at the University of Toronto in Canada.
Connor has also written "A Heritage of Healing: the London Health Association and its Hospitals." He has authored numerous papers, book chapters, and book reviews as well as made many presentations on medical history.
