Norman Bethune Square () is a small

urban square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

located in

Downtown Montreal Downtown Montreal (French language, French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the ...

at the northwest intersection of

Guy Street Guy Street (officially in ) is a north-south street located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Concordia University's Integrated Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Complex is located on this street, as is the John Molson School of B ...

and De Maisonneuve Boulevard West. It is located close to

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

Sir George Williams campus Quartier Concordia is a neighbourhood redevelopment project centred on Concordia University's Sir George Williams campus in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Bordered by Sherbrooke Street, Saint-Mathieu Street, René Lévesque Boulevard and Bishop ...

and is opposite the Guy-Concordia

metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

station. The main feature of the square is the statue of Dr.

Norman Bethune Henry Norman Bethune (; March 4, 1890 – November 12, 1939; zh, t=白求恩) was a Canadian thoracic surgeon, early advocate of socialized medicine, and member of the Communist Party of Canada. Bethune came to international prominence fi ...

, as well as trees, lighting, benches and an expanded sidewalk.

Norman Bethune

Inaugurated on March 23, 1976, Norman Bethune Square is named after Norman Bethune (1890–1939), 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 ...

doctor from

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Although he was born in

Gravenhurst, Ontario Gravenhurst is a town in the District Municipality of Muskoka, Muskoka Region of Ontario, Canada. It is located approximately south of Bracebridge, Ontario. The Town of Gravenhurst includes a large area of the District of Muskoka, known to Ontar ...

and died in China, Bethune resided in Montreal for eight years, from 1928 to 1936. It was during his stay in Montreal that he became a renowned thoracic surgeon, that his socialist ideas and convictions took shape, guiding him to a profound commitment towards social and humanitarian causes including joining the

Communist Party of Canada The Communist Party of Canada is a federal political party in Canada. Founded in 1921 under conditions of illegality, it is the second oldest active political party in Canada, after the Liberal Party of Canada. Although it does not currentl ...

. While living in the city, Bethune innovated a number of ground-breaking medical instruments against

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, Bethune worked with Lea Roback and others to open a public clinic for the unemployed and poor as party of his cross-Canada advocacy for socialized medicine or

public health care Publicly funded healthcare is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most healthcare needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are se ...

. After joining the

, he traveled to Spain as part of the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

where he created one of the first mobile blood transfusion services during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. Bethune returned to Montreal to campaign for

Republican Spain The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII. It was dissol ...

before leaving for

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Between 1938 and 1939, on the eve of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Bethune traveled with the

Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army The Chinese Red Army, formally the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army( zh, labels=no, t=中國工農紅軍) or just the Red Army( zh, labels=no, t=紅軍), was the military wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1928 to 1937. I ...

and he eventually contracted

blood poisoning Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is compo ...

and died in China. The

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

offered the statue of Norman Bethune to the city of

Redesign

At the time of the 70th anniversary of the Bethune's participation in the World War II in China, the City of Montreal undertook a major renovation project of the square at a cost of C$3 million. The site was under substantial renovations as part of the redevelopment of De Maisonneuve Boulevard. The newly restored statue of Norman Bethune was unveiled on October 14, 2008. The square was completed in 2009.

Gallery

Image:Norman Bethune (original).JPG Image:Norman bethune.jpg Image:Norman Bethune Square.jpg

References

* Ville de Montréal, ''Les rues de Montréal, Répertoire historique''. Éditions du Méridien. 1995.

External links

Norman Bethune
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bethune Square, Norman Squares in Montreal Downtown Montreal Norman Bethune 1976 establishments in Quebec Concordia University

Norman Bethune

Redesign

Gallery

See also

References

External links