Paul Henrik Thorbjorn Thorlakson, (October 5, 1895 – October 19, 1989) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

physician and Chancellor of the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gra ...

. Paul Thorlaksonwas born in Park River, North Dakota and grew up in

Selkirk, Manitoba Selkirk is a city in the western Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba, located on the Red River of the North, Red River about northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg. It has a population of 10,504 as of the 202 ...

. He was the third child of the Reverend Neils Steingrimur Thorlákson (1857-1943), who was an immigrant from

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and Erika Christopha Rynning (1860-1947), who was born in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. He father was a minister in the Lutheran Church who served the congregations in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Manitoba. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was a medical sergeant. After the war he received his medical degree from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. He co-founded the Maclean-Thorlakson clinic, renamed the Winnipeg Clinic in 1938, one of the earliest multi-speciality private group practice clinics in Canada. He was surgeon-in-chief at the Winnipeg General Hospital and professor of surgery at the University of Manitoba. In 1969 he was elected Chancellor of the University of Winnipeg. Dr. Thorlakson served three terms as chancellor of the University of Winnipeg. He also became a governor of the American College of Surgeons. In 1974, he was the official representative of the Government of Canada to the celebrations marking the 1100th anniversary of the settlement of Iceland.

Honours

* In 1939 he was named Knight of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. N ...

and was promoted to Commander in 1951. * He received honorary doctorates from the University of Manitoba (1952),

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...

(1961), Brandon University (1970), and University of Winnipeg (1979). * In 1970 he was made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

References

External links

Paul H.T. Thorlakson
(Canadian Encyclopedia) {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorlakson, Paul 1895 births 1989 deaths Canadian surgeons Canadian military doctors Canadian soldiers Canadian university and college chancellors Companions of the Order of Canada University of Winnipeg alumni American emigrants to Canada Recipients of the Order of the Falcon People from Walsh County, North Dakota Canadian people of Icelandic descent Canadian people of Norwegian descent 20th-century surgeons