Most people have not heard of Norman Bethune, so I thought I’d share this rather nice statue of the man and a brief history.
Dr. Bethune was born in 1890 and educated in Canada. He was trained as a thoracic surgeon, a field in which he made several significant advances including the invention and redesign of surgical instruments, and innovations in surgical techniques.
Dr. Bethune was best-known as a political activist who lived his life true to his convictions. He was a Marxist who volunteered in the Spanish Civil War and who became a battlefield surgeon for the Chinese Communist forces of Mao Zedong. He died of a blood infection at age 49 while in China, a hero to the Chinese Communists.
This statue is located outside the University of Toronto; Dr Bethune was a graduate of its Faculty of Medicine in 1916.
