Alexander Milton Ross (December 13, 1832 – October 27, 1897) was a Canadian

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, naturalist,

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

and

anti-vaccination Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

activist. He is best known as an agent for the secret

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

slave escape network, known in that organization and among slaves as "The Birdman" for his preferred cover story as an ornithologist.

Biography

Milton was born in

Belleville, Ontario Belleville is a city in Ontario, Canada situated on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, located at the mouth of the Moira River and on the Bay of Quinte. Belleville is between Ottawa and Toronto, along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Its population ...

.Rose, George Maclean. (1888)
''A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time''
Rose Publishing Company. pp. 118-119. He began his study of medicine in 1861 under the direction of Valentine Mott and subsequently under Russell Thacher Trall, the noted hygienic physician. Milton obtained his M.D. in 1855 and M.A. in 1867. He was appointed surgeon in the army of Nicaragua that was commanded by General William Walker. Ross was an abolitionist and was involved in the anti-slavery struggle. During the Southern rebellion he was employed by President Lincoln as a confidential correspondent in Canada. He was appointed surgeon to the Republican army of President Juarez of Mexico. After the capture of Maximillian, he returned to Canada and became a naturalist. He collected and classified 570 species of birds that regularly or occasionally visit Canada, 232 species of bird eggs that breed in Canada and 247 species of mammals, reptiles and freshwater fish, 3400 species of insects and 2000 species of Canadian flora. Ross was a member of the British Association of Science and of the French and American Associations. He received the Medal of Merit from the Shah of Persia in 1884, the decoration of honour from the Khedive of Egypt in 1884 and the decoration of the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

from the Government of France in 1879. He was an elected Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

, the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

and the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

. He was the founder of the Canadian Society for the Diffusion of Physiological Knowledge in 1880 and a founder of the St. Louis Hygienic College of Physicians and Surgeons. Ross married Hester E. Harrington. They had five children, of whom two daughters and a son survived infancy. Rose was an advocate of natural hygiene and opposed conventional medical treatment and all drugs which he considered unnatural. He abstained from alcohol and tobacco. Ross died in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Anti-vaccination

Ross was a staunch opponent of

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

. He stated that vaccines were dangerous and useless to prevent

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

. Instead, he advocated the strict enforcement of sanitation and isolation. In December 1885, Ross formed the Canadian Anti-Vaccination League (also called the Canadian Anti-Compulsory Vaccination League). Ross and the League considered compulsory vaccination an abuse of

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

."Alexander Ross Milton"
Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 31 July 2021. Ross authored anti-vaccination pamphlets that were widely circulated during the smallpox epidemic of 1885 in Montreal."COVID-19 anti-vaxxers use the same arguments from 135 years ago"
'' The Conservation''. Retrieved 31 July 2021. In 1885 during the epidemic, Ross left Montreal and his train entered Ontario. It was reported that he had been vaccinated as quarantine inspectors approached him and found a vaccination puncture mark on his arm not over a year old."An Anti-Vaccinationist in Theory: Not in Practice"
First Annual Report of the State Board of Health of the State of Kansas. Topeka: Kansas Publishing House, 1886. pp. 136-137 Ross was criticized by major newspapers of the time for this dilemma, although Ross denied being vaccinated."Crusading doctor fought oppression, prejudice - and inoculations"
''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

''. Retrieved 31 July 2021. A 1885 report by the State Board of Health of the State of Kansas suggested that Ross was only an anti-vaccinationist in theory not in practice as he had been vaccinated himself and his children were vaccinated. However, Ross continued to campaign against vaccination for the rest of his life. In 1888, Ross formed the Toronto Anti-Compulsory Vaccination League.MacDougall, Heather. (1990). ''Activists and Advocates Toronto's Health Department 1883-1983''. Dundurn Press. p. 122.

Books

* * * * * *''Birds of Canada'' (1872) *''Butterflies and Moths of Canada'' (1873) *''Flora of Canada'' (1873) *''Forest Trees of Canada'' (1874) *''Ferns and Wild Flowers of Canada'' (1877) *''Mammals, Reptiles, and Fresh-water Fish of Canada'' (1878) *''The Fight Against Compulsory Vaccination'' (1883)
A Pitiable Sight!: People Driven Like Dumb Animals to the Shambles!!: Tyranny of Doctorcraft!!!''
(1885)
''The Anti-Vaccinator, and Advocate of Cleanliness''
(1885) *''Vaccination a Medical Delusion'' (1885) *''Medical Practice of the Great Future''

In popular culture

Ross appears as a character in the 1977 children's novel '' Underground to Canada'' which depicts four young slaves who, with Ross's help, escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad.

Biography

Anti-vaccination

Books

In popular culture

References

Further reading