Sir Peter MacCallum (14 July 1885 – 4 March 1974) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

-born Australian oncologist and the co-founder and eponym of the

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, also known as the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute and commonly abbreviated as Peter Mac, is an Australian oncology research institute, cancer treatment and professional oncologist training centre located in M ...

in Melbourne.

Background and early life

Peter MacCallum was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 14 July 1885. He was the son of Peter MacCallum, a New Zealander, living at Gairfield House in the Maryhill district of Glasgow.Glasgow Post Office Directory 1885-6 The family returned to New Zealand in his youth and he was raised in Christchurch, his father's home town. He was sent to work at the age of 12. He was able to return to school and continued his entire education through a series of scholarships and part-time work, eventually obtaining an MB ChB back in Scotland at the University of Edinburgh in 1914, just in time to join the British Army in France.

Career

During the First World War he was awarded the Military Cross and was twice mentioned in dispatches. In 1918, he was badly gassed, and perhaps it was a result of ill health that his postwar career concentrated on pathology and research. In 1924, he was appointed to the Chair of Pathology at the University of Melbourne. Typically, he soon directed his energy and concern to one of the greatest medical challenges, the fight against cancer. In 1935 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were Anderson Gray McKendrick, William Frederick Harvey, Thomas Jones Mackie and Alfred Joseph Clark. In the Second World War he served at the rank of

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

as the Director of Pathology to the Australian Army Medical Corps and from 1941 was the chief co-ordinator of Australian medical personnel. As Chairman of the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria from 1946 to 1963, he was influential in the formation of the Victorian Cancer Institute in 1949. The first outpatient clinic opened in 1950 bore his name and the Institute was renamed as the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute - "The Peter Mac" - in his honour in 1986. MacCallum was Chairman of the Australian Red Cross from 1951 to 1957 and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

by Elizabeth II in 1953. MacCallum's vision created a cancer centre where humanity, caring service and relentless research share equal value. He believed that nothing but the best was good enough in the treatment of cancer. The Peter Mac is living testimony to his belief.

Personal life

MacCallum was married and widowed three times. His first marriage in 1919 was to Bella Dytes McIntosh Cross (better known as Bella MacCallum) with whom he had three daughters. His second marriage in 1928 was to Ursula Lillie Grace (died 1941) and together they had a son. His third marriage was to Frieda Maud Davies (died 1953). MacCallum died in Kew on 4 March 1974 at the age of 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maccallum, Peter 1885 births 1974 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Australian oncologists Cancer researchers Australian pathologists Australian Knights Bachelor Australian recipients of the Military Cross Australian military personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War I Scottish emigrants to Australia Medical doctors from Christchurch Australian military personnel of World War II