John William Michael Bliss (January 18, 1941 – May 18, 2017) was a Canadian historian and author. Though his early works focused on business and political history, he also wrote biographies of physicians

Frederick Banting Sir Frederick Grant Banting (November 14, 1891 – February 21, 1941) was a Canadian pharmacologist, orthopedist, and field surgeon. For his co-discovery of insulin and its therapeutic potential, Banting was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physi ...

William Osler Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet, (; July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a Canadian physician and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler created the first Residency (medicine), residency program for speci ...

and

Harvey Cushing Harvey Williams Cushing (April 8, 1869 – October 7, 1939) was an American neurosurgery, neurosurgeon, pathologist, writer, and draftsman. A pioneer of brain surgery, he was the first exclusive neurosurgeon and the first person to describe Cush ...

. Bliss was a frequent commentator on political events and issues. He was an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

Early life

Michael Bliss was born on January 18, 1941, in Leamington,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Bliss was raised in nearby Kingsville, Ontario. His father, Quartus Bliss, was a Kingsville-based physician who encouraged Michael to enter the medical field. In an autobiographical essay, Bliss explained that his aspirations were shattered when watching his father suture a drunk's face:

Academic pursuits

Bliss entered the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in 1958, and received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

, and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degrees there. He was appointed to the faculty in 1968 and by the time of his retirement in 2006 had attained the elite rank of University Professor. His doctoral dissertation, which was supervised by

Ramsay Cook George Ramsay Cook (28 November 1931 – 14 July 2016) was a Canadian historian and general editor of the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography''. He was professor of history at the University of Toronto, 1958–1968; York University, 1969–1 ...

, was a

social history Social history, often called history from below, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. Historians who write social history are called social historians. Social history came to prominence in the 1960s, spreading f ...

of Canadian business, an analysis of the "thoughts and dreams" of businessmen in Canada during the

National Policy The National Policy was a Canadian economic program introduced by John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party in 1876. After Macdonald led the Conservatives to victory in the 1878 Canadian federal election, he began implementing his policy in 1879. ...

years. It was published under the title ''A Living Profit''. In 1978 he published a major biography of Sir Joseph Flavelle, "A Canadian Millionaire", and in 1987 the first history of business in Canada, "Northern Enterprise". In 1982, he began a mid-career transition to medical history with his book "The Discovery of Insulin". This 1982 book was the basis for the award-winning '' Glory Enough for All'', a 1988 Canadian

television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

. He has published biographies of two Canadians, the discoverer of insulin Sir Frederick Banting and the famous physician Sir William Osler. In 2005, he published a biography of the American neurosurgeon

, himself also a biographer of Osler. Like J. L. Granatstein, his criticism of excessively specialized

has made him a controversial figure in Canadian

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...

. Bliss has been a frequent commentator on Canadian politics for newspapers, magazines, and television, and has lectured widely in North America and Europe. In a 2005 profile for the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

'', former student John Turley-Ewart writes: "In the 1990s, when I worked as his teaching assistant, it was not unusual to see 300 people from all walks of life – full-time students, business people, civil servants, journalists – packed into his evening lectures." He was nominated by Turley-Ewart as Canada's "leading public intellectual", part of a series that ran in ''National Post''.

Awards and distinctions

In 1998, he was made a Member of the

and was promoted to Officer in 2013. His books have won various prizes, including the Welch Medal of the American Association for the History of Medicine, the Tyrrell Medal of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

, three Jason Hannah Medals of the Royal Society of Canada, the Garneau, Macdonald, and Ferguson prizes of the Canadian Historical Association, and the National Business Book Award. His book on Osler was shorted for the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

. He was an honorary member of the Harvey Club of London, the oldest medical club in Canada, for his historical biographical contributions on

Banting Banting is a town and the seat of Kuala Langat District, Selangor, Malaysia. Banting has a population of 93,497. The postal code for Banting is 42700 and is administered by the Zone of 15 and 19 of the Kuala Langat Municipal Council. It is situ ...

, another honorary member of the Harvey Club. He is an honorary fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada () is a regulatory college which acts as a national, nonprofit organization established in 1929 by a special Act of Parliament to oversee the medical education of specialists in Canada. The ...

and holds honorary degrees from the University of Prince Edward Island,

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

, McGill, the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, and the University of Toronto. In 2008 his students published a

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

, "Essays in Honour of Michael Bliss: Figuring the Social". In 2016 he became the first historian inducted into the

Canadian Medical Hall of Fame __NOTOC__ 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 the health of people. It has an exhibit hall in London, ...

. In 2011, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Osler Society in 2010

Political commentary

Bliss frequently commented on current events, contributing essays to various magazine and newspapers, including ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

''. He opposed the

Meech Lake Accord The Meech Lake Accord () was a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and all 10 Canadian provincial Premier (Canada), premiers. It was intended to ...

and the Charlottetown Accord and the 1999 NATO bombing of Kosovo and he advocated for the abolition of the Canadian monarchy. He also strongly criticized

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

's 2006 move to recognize the Québécois as a nation.

Death

Michael Bliss died on May 18, 2017, in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, at the age of 76.

Works

* 1974: ''A Living Profit: studies in the social history of Canadian business 1883-1911'' * 1975: ''Confederation, 1867: The Creation of the Dominion of Canada'' * 1978: ''A Canadian Millionaire: The Life and Business Times for Sir Joseph Flavelle'' * 1982: ''The Discovery of Insulin'' * 1984: ''Frederick Banting: A Biography'' * 1987: ''Northern Enterprise: Five Centuries of Canadian Business'' 2018 edition * 1991: ''Plague: A Story of Smallpox in Montreal''(nominated for

) * 1994: ''Right Honourable Men: the descent of Canadian politics from Macdonald to Mulroney'',

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

* 1999: ''William Osler: a Life in Medicine'' (nominated for

) * 2005: ''Harvey Cushing: a Life in Surgery'' * 2010: ''The Making of Modern Medicine: Turning Points in the Treatment of Disease'' * 2011: ''Writing History: A Professor's Life'' (a first-person memoir)

References

External links

Michael Bliss entry in Canadian Who's WhoVideo History of Medicine in Canada Project: The Friends of CIHR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Michael 1941 births 2017 deaths Historians of Canada 20th-century Canadian biographers Canadian male biographers Canadian medical historians Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Writers from Toronto University of Toronto alumni People from Leamington, Ontario 20th-century Canadian historians 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian biographers 21st-century Canadian historians 21st-century Canadian male writers Presidents of the American Osler Society