Malcolm Ross Bow (13 July 18875 July 1982) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

medical doctor and public health officer. From 1912 to 1926 Bow served as Chief Medical Officer for

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

. From 1927 to 1952 Bow served as deputy minister of health for

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. Born in

Vernon, Ontario Vernon is a compact rural community in Osgoode Ward in the southern part of the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Prior to amalgamation in 2001, Vernon was located in Osgoode Township. According to the Canada 2011 Census The 2011 Canadian cen ...

, Bow graduated from Queen's University with a medical degree in 1911. He became the first medical officer of the city of Regina the next year. Bow initiated a number of important public health programs in Regina. He controlled

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

with a sanitary system of galvanized steel buckets and a specialised " honeywagon" which he helped design. Bow also instituted a child-care program which reduced the city's rate of

infant mortality Infant mortality is the death of an infant before the infant's first birthday. The occurrence of infant mortality in a population can be described by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age ...

. Bow was also an organizer and player for the Regina Rugby Club, predecessor of the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

. Bow played

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and acted as secretary and treasurer for the league. In 1927 Bow moved to

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

to become Alberta's deputy minister of health, a position he would hold until 1952. Bow is credited with expanding health care to remote areas of the province. In 1929 Bow requested a dangerous winter flight by

bush pilot Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormal ...

Wop May Wilfrid Reid "Wop" May, (March 20, 1896 – June 21, 1952) was a Canadian flying ace in the First World War and a leading post-war aviator. He was the final Allied pilot to be pursued by Manfred von Richthofen before the German ace was shot down ...

to bring

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

vaccine to

Fort Vermilion Fort Vermilion is a hamlet on the Peace River in northern Alberta, Canada, within Mackenzie County. Established in 1788, Fort Vermilion shares the title of oldest European settlement in Alberta with Fort Chipewyan. Fort Vermilion contains many ...

to combat an emerging outbreak. Bow was initially criticised for the "foolhardy" risk, but the delivery was successful and the pilots were greeted as national heroes on their return to Edmonton. From 1938 until 1954 Bow combined his administrative duties with teaching public health at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

, becoming an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

and then

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

in 1956. In 1953 Bow moved north to become Chief Medical Officer of the

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

. Malcolm Bow and his wife Norma had two daughters and a son, diplomat Malcolm Norman Bow. Bow died in 1982 in Edmonton.

Publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bow, Malcolm Ross 1887 births 1982 deaths Canadian public health doctors Physicians from Ontario Players of Canadian football from Ontario Queen's University at Kingston alumni Saskatchewan Roughriders players Canadian football people from Ottawa Academic staff of the University of Alberta