Charles Kirk Clarke (1857 – 20 January 1924) was a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

who was influential in Canadian politics.

Early life

Clarke was born on 16 February 1857 in Elora, Canada West, son of a prominent Ontario parliamentarian.

Career

Clarke graduated from

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 1879 and went on to found the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene (now the

Canadian Mental Health Association The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is a Canadian non-profit mental health organization that focuses on resources, programs and advocacy. It was founded on April 22, 1918, by Clarence M. Hincks and Clifford W. Beers. Originally named ...

) in 1914 with Clarence Hincks. As Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at University of Toronto, he oversaw creation of the Department of Psychiatry, and development of the

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

. Clarke first practised psychiatry at the 999 Queen Street institution in

Toronto, Ontario 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 ...

. In 1880, then took a post at the

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

asylum. Clarke was a student and brother-in-law of Joseph Workman, Superintendent of the Toronto Asylum. Clarke was an early proponents of

eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

, emphasizing the importance of restrictive laws that would limit the immigration and marriage of the "mentally defective." To them, such laws seemed necessary to stem the explosive growth of state and provincial mental asylums where foreign-born patients made up more than 50 percent of the hospital population. Further, the growth of

hereditarian Hereditarianism is the research program according to which heredity plays a central role in determining human nature and character traits, such as intelligence and personality. Hereditarians believe in the power of genetic influences to explain ...

views in science supported eugenic proposals; psychiatry's desire for greater respectability in the medical profession made eugenic "science" attractive. By 1905, Clarke had abandoned the movement, and many of the other leading psychiatrists would follow suit by the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when it was clear that eugenic measures were not having the desired effects. Clarke joined his other brother-in-law, William Metcalfe at the Rockwood Asylum for the Criminally Insane, the psychiatric hospital in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

in 1881 and began a series of reforms in the care of the insane. One of these was freeing patients from confinement. On 13 August 1885, a paranoid patient attacked them both and killed Metcalfe. Clarke survived and succeeded his brother-in-law as Medical superintendent of facility. Clarke carried on in Kingston until 1905 when he succeeded Daniel Clark as superintendent of the Toronto Asylum. In 1911 he resigned from government service and was appointed superintendent of the

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue (Toronto), ...

Family

Clarke was married to Margaret DeVeber (from 1880 until her death in 1902CLARKE, CHARLES KIRK
Dictionary of Canadian Biography at biographi.ca) with whom he had four sons and two daughters. Three of his sons were active as

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

players on professional or amateur levels in Canada and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Charles Marshall Clarke (1881–1940) played with the Kingston Frontenacs and the Queen's University team in Kingston, Ontario, and with the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a Gentlemen's club, private social club and athletic club in New York (state), New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Pa ...

and the

New York Wanderers The New York Wanderers were an amateur ice hockey team from Manhattan, New York City. The New York Wanderers played seven seasons in the American Amateur Hockey League between 1903 and 1914 and won the championship title in 1903–04. 1896 Stan ...

in the AAHL, Harold Metcalfe Clarke (1885–1924) played with the Kingston Frontenacs, the

, and with the New York Athletic Club, and Herbert Secord Clarke (1887–1938) played with the Kingston Frontenacs, the University of Toronto, and with the

Cobalt Silver Kings The Cobalt Silver Kings of Cobalt, Ontario, were a professional ice hockey club established in 1906. The team is notable for being a founding member of the National Hockey Association, the predecessor to the National Hockey League. Established t ...

of the

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. From 1904 until his death in 1924 Clarke was married to Theresa Gallagher.

End of life

Clarke became ill in the autumn of 1923 and died in Toronto early the next year. A headline in the Toronto Sunday World of 23 March 1924 read "Canada owes immeasurable debt to Dr. C.K. Clarke who helped to lift the shadow of misery and hopelessness from insane asylums". The Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto, Ontario, Canada was named in his honour.

References

;General *Dowbiggin, Ian Robert. ''Keeping America Sane: Psychiatry and Eugenics in the United States and Canada, 1880–1940''. *Greenland, C. ''Charles Kirk Clarke A pioneer of Canadian Psychiatry'', 1966. University of Toronto Press *Anon. ''125 Years Keeping People Healthy Kingston Psychiatric Hospital'', 1981, Produced by The Kingston Psychiatric Hospital {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Charles Kirk 1857 births 1924 deaths Canadian eugenicists Canadian medical researchers Canadian psychiatrists Canadian university and college faculty deans People from Centre Wellington University of Toronto alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto