Theodore G.H. Drake, MD (1891- 1959) 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 ...

pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

and one of three

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 ...

s who developed

Pablum Pablum is a processed cereal for infants originally marketed and co-created by the Mead Johnson Company in 1931. The product was developed at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, to combat infant malnutrition. The trademarke ...

Early life

Drake was born on September 16, 1891, in Webbwood, Ontario. He obtained his university degree from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1914. He spent two years in residence at the

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospital ...

. Drake was a medical officer 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 ...

. After the war, he returned to the Toronto General Hospital where he eventually became head of the research institute.

Medical accomplishments

In 1923, he, along with physicians Alan Brown and Frederick Tisdale, helped work out the formula for

, a processed cereal for children. The cereal marked a breakthrough in nutritional science as it helped prevent rickets, a crippling childhood disease, by ensuring that children have enough

vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D3 (c ...

in their diet. Although Pablum was not the first food designed and sold specifically for babies, it was the first pre-cooked and thoroughly dried baby food. The ease of preparation made Pablum successful in an era when infant

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...

was still a major problem in industrialized countries. 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 opposin ...

, Drake designed nutritional diets for RCAF personnel as well as for POW parcels. After the war, he was named a member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

for his work.

Personal life

Drake met his first wife, Gerturd Salmond, overseas. She predeceased him by 15 years. His second wife was Nina Johnson. Interested in the history of pediatric care, Drake began a collection of art and artifacts related to the history of children's health. Over 3000 artifacts and 1000 prints formed a base of his collection. This collection is now in the hands of the

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

. Drake died on October 18, 1959.

External links

Bio from the Hospital for Sick Kids

About the collection

References

* Toronto ''Globe and Mail'', Feb 19, 1960 {{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Theodore 1891 births 1959 deaths Canadian pediatricians Royal Ontario Museum People from Sudbury District University of Toronto alumni