Brock Chisholm

Chisholm, George Brock
George Brock Chisholm, psychiatrist, medical administrator (b at Oakville, Ont 18 May 1896; d at Victoria 2 Feb 1971). Chisholm enlisted as a private in WWI, was commissioned in the field, wounded and twice decorated. After the war he rose to senior ranks in the militia. He graduated in medicine from University of Toronto in 1924 and after some years of general practice studied psychiatry in the US and England, practising in Toronto from 1934 to 1940. During WWII he became director of personnel selection and then director general of medical services for the Canadian Army. At the end of the war he was appointed federal deputy minister of health and was active in many national and international health commissions. In 1948 he was appointed first director general of the World Health Organization, a position he held until 1953.

He received many awards and honours and also his share of criticism for his attacks on superstitions, myths and methods of indoctrinating children. His attack on teaching children to believe in Santa Claus received national comment. Nevertheless, he remained tolerant, wise, realistic and logically persuasive. He was one of the first to emphasize the danger of pollution, overpopulation and the nuclear arms race. His published works range from pamphlets on army morale to books on world survival, and his last publication (1958) was prophetically titled Can People Learn to Learn?

Author J.D.M. GRIFFIN