Robin C. A. Hunter (c. March 2, 1919 – March 9, 1987) was a
Jamaican Canadian
Jamaican Canadians are Canadian citizens of Jamaican descent or Jamaican-born permanent residents of Canada. The population, according to Canada's 2016 Census, is 309,485. Jamaican Canadians comprise about 30% of the entire Black Canadian popu ...
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
, as well as Director and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at the
Clarke Institute of Psychiatry
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (College Street site) is a psychiatric hospital in Toronto, Ontario. It is located at 250 College Street, just east of Spadina Avenue. Much of its work focuses on forensic psychology, sex addiction, drug ...
. There, Hunter founded their clinical program for
transsexual
Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignmen ...
people.Staff report (December 27, 1969). Toronto group to study trans-sexualism. ''
Canadian Medical Association Journal
The ''Canadian Medical Association Journal'' (French ''Journal de l'Association Médicale Canadienne'') is a peer-reviewed general medical journal published by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). It publishes original clinical research, anal ...
''
Life and career
Hunter was born in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
and came to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in 1940. He joined the
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. He was shot down over occupied Europe and spent four years as a
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
after being processed at Dulag Luft.Rollings, Charles (2004). ''Wire and worse: RAF prisoners of war in Laufen, Biberach, Lübeck and Warburg, 1940-42.'' Ian Allan, After the war, he enrolled at
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...
and earned a medical degree in 1950.
He was head of the Department of Psychiatry at Queen's University until 1966.Whitehead, Harold (March 17, 1967). People make news. ''
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 ...
'' In 1967, he was appointed to the same position at the University of Toronto, where the department of psychiatry had a largely biological orientation prior to that. According to his colleague and successor
Frederick Lowy
Frederick Hans Lowy, (born 1933) is a Canadian medical educator and former President and Vice-Chancellor of Concordia University.psychoanalyst.Emmerson, Jim (March 12, 1987). Dr. Robin Hunter, was chairman of psychiatry at the Clarke Institute. ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...
'' He was named Psychiatrist-in-Chief of the Clarke Institute in 1967, becoming Director and CEO in 1969. In 1973, he was appointed Associate Dean (Clinical) of the Faculty of Medicine. Frederick Lowy succeeded Hunter as Chair in 1974.
Hunter died at
Toronto Western Hospital
The Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) is a major research and teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the University Health Network (UHN). It has 256 beds, with 46,000 visits to its emergency department annually. It is known for ...
from complications of
exploratory surgery
Exploratory surgery is a diagnostic method used by doctors when trying to find a diagnosis for an ailment. With the invention of modern imaging techniques, exploratory surgery is becoming less common in humans. Due to the high cost and lower avail ...
.Eastwood, Robin (1997). The Clarke and Its Founders. The Thirtieth Anniversary. A Retrospective Look at the Impossible Dream. eview '' J Psychiatry Neurosci''. 1997 July; 22(4): 275.
Selected publications
*Taylor FK, Hunter RCA (1958). Observation of a hysterical epidemic in a hospital ward. ''
Psychiatric Quarterly
The ''Psychiatric Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal that was established in 1915 as ''The State Hospital Quarterly'' ( and ). It obtained its current name in 1927. The publication's founding editor-in-chief was Horatio Pollock.
Abstr ...
'' 1958 Oct;32(4):821-39.
*Hunter RCA, Prince RH (1961). Comments on emotional disturbances in a medical undergraduate population. '' Can Med Assoc J'' 1961 Oct 28;85:989-92.
*Schwartzman AE, Lohrenz JG (1962). A Fifteen-Year Follow-Up Study of Medical Graduates. '' Can Med Assoc J'' 1962 Oct 20;87:865-8.
*Hunter RCA, Schwartzman AE (1961). A clinical view of study difficulties in a group of counseled medical students. '' J Med Educ'' 1961 Oct;36:1295-301.
*Schwartzman AE, Hunter RCA, Prince RH (1961). Intellectual factors and academic performance in medical undergraduates. Journal of Medical Education 1961 Apr;36:353-8.
*Schwartzman AE, Hunter RCA, Lohrenz JG (1962). Factors related to student withdrawals from medical schools. '' J Med Educ.'' 1962 Oct;37:1114-20.
*Schwartzman AE, Hunter RCA, Lohrenz JG (1962). Factors related to medical school achievement. '' J Med Educ'' 1962 Aug;37:749-59.
*Hunter RCA, Lohrenz JG, (1964). Nosophobia and hypochondriasis in medical students. '' J Nerv Ment Dis'' 1964 Aug;139:147-52.
*Hunter RCA (1966). The analysis of episodes of depersonalization in a borderline patient. ''
International Journal of Psycho-Analysis
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
'' 1966;47(1):32-41.
*Hunter RCA (1967). On the experience of nearly dying. ''
American Journal of Psychiatry
''The American Journal of Psychiatry'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering all aspects of psychiatry, and is the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association.
The first volume was issued in 1844, at which time it was k ...
'' Am J Psychiatry. 1967 Jul;124(1):84-8.
*Voineskos G, Hsu K, Hunter RCA (1984). The teaching of consultation-liaison psychiatry in the undergraduate curriculum of Canadian medical schools. '' General Hospital Psychiatry'' 1984 Apr;6(2):117-22.