Charles John Colwell Orr Hastings (23 August 1858 in

Markham Township Markham () is a city in the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in York Region, fourth largest ...

, Canada – 17 January 1931 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

) was an obstetrician and

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

pioneer.

Biography

Dr. Hastings lost his daughter to

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

because of contaminated milk. At that time,

also had no sewage treatment, and used unchlorinated water from

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

. In middle age, Hastings switched from a normal career in obstetrics to an outstanding one in public health. As Toronto's Medical Officer of Health (1910–29) Hastings crusaded to make Toronto the first city in Canada to pasteurize milk.Denmark instituted compulsory pasteurization in 1898 in an effort to limit the spread of tubercular disease. He introduced a safe water supply, eliminated privies, helped establish the public-health nursing system, medical and dental inspection in public schools, neighborhood baby clinics, childhood immunizations, and health inspections for homes and restaurants. The improvements lowered Toronto's death rate from communicable diseases from 15.3 per 1000 in 1909 to 10.3 per 1000 in 1925. Hastings became president of the Canadian Public Health Association in 1916 and the American Public Health Association in 1918.

References

External links

The Canadian Encyclopedia – Hastings, Charles John Colwell OrrArchives of Ontario -- Includes a newspaper cartoon on the efforts of Dr. Hastings cleaning up TorontoBiographical Article on Dr. Hastings and his work in Toronto
People from Markham, Ontario 1858 births 1931 deaths Canadian public health doctors {{Canada-med-bio-stub