Martin Henry Dawson (6 August 1896 – 27 April 1945) 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 ...

-born researcher who made important contributions in the fields of infectious diseases. Dawson was born in

Truro, Nova Scotia Truro (Mi'kmaq: ''Wagobagitik''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Truru'') is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County and is located on the south side of the Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth at ...

, a grandson of

John Barnhill Dickie John Barnhill Dickie (March 30, 1829 – June 5, 1886) was a farmer, teacher and political figure in Nova Scotia, Canada. He represented Colchester County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1874 to 1878 as an independent member. He was b ...

and educated at Dalhousie University and

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 ...

. His research included studies on the

transformation Transformation may refer to: Science and mathematics In biology and medicine * Metamorphosis, the biological process of changing physical form after birth or hatching * Malignant transformation, the process of cells becoming cancerous * Tran ...

of pneumococci and on the biological variants of the

streptococcus ''Streptococcus'' is a genus of gram-positive ' (plural ) or spherical bacteria that belongs to the family Streptococcaceae, within the order Lactobacillales (lactic acid bacteria), in the phylum Bacillota. Cell division in streptococci occurs ...

and other

microorganism A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

s. Dawson's studies on the nature and treatment of arthritis made him a recognized authority in this disorder. He was a pioneer in penicillin therapy, and was the first in the world to prepare it and use it in human disease. This included the successful treatment of bacterial

endocarditis Endocarditis is an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, the endocardium. It usually involves the heart valves. Other structures that may be involved include the interventricular septum, the chordae tendineae, the mural endocardium, or the ...

with penicillin, and the use of gold salts in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Dawson became the first person in history to stick a needle full of an antibiotic (penicillin) into a patient, on October 16, 1940.

Military career

After he had graduated Dalhousie University in Halifax with a BA in 1916 he started serving in the Canadian forces in the

First World War 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 ...

. Pte. M. Henry Dawson was with No. 7 Stationary Hospital at La Harve,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. He became a Capt. in the Nova Scotia Reg’t of

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also res ...

Medical Corps. He was wounded in 1917 and again in 1918 and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

in 1917.

Career as a researcher

Following the war Dawson attended McGill University in Quebec and received his

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

degree in 1923. After graduating in

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

he worked at the Royal Victoria Hospital in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. In 1926 he was appointed a National Research

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

, assigned to the Rockefeller Institute in New York. As a National Research Council fellow he worked with

Oswald Avery Oswald Theodore Avery Jr. (October 21, 1877 – February 20, 1955) was a Canadian-American physician and medical researcher. The major part of his career was spent at the Rockefeller Hospital in New York City. Avery was one of the first molecula ...

at the Rockefeller Institute. Over Avery's strong objections, Dawson recreated Fred Griffith's discovery that a soluble substance from dead bacteria of one type can effect a repeatable and inheritable change in bacteria of another type - a process Dawson termed ''

'' in his six articles on the subject - in which he was the first person in history to put the substance to work in a test tube and even to partially extract it. The phrase stuck and eventually Avery along with

Colin Munro MacLeod Colin Munro MacLeod (January 28, 1909 – February 11, 1972) was a Canadian-American geneticist. He was one of a trio of scientists who discovered that deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA is responsible for the transformation of the physical cha ...

proved the substance was in fact DNA. In 1929 Dawson became associated with the Presbyterian Hospital and the Department of Medicine at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. In 1942 Dawson became the victim of myasthenia gravis, a chronic progressively disabling disease.

Career

*1916 B.A. Dalhousie University *1923 M.D. McGill University *1923 C.M. McGill University *1923-1924 Demonstrator in Pathology and Bacteriology, McGill University. Externe in Pathology, Royal Victoria Hospital. *1924-1925 Instructor in Pathology and Bacteriology, University of Louisville. *1925-1926 Assistant Resident Physician, Royal Victoria Hospital. *1926-1928 National Research Council Fellow in Medicine. Rockefeller Institute. *1928-1929 Assistant, Rockefeller Institute. *1929-1930 Associate in Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons. *1929- Assistant Attending Physician, Presbyterian Hospital. *1930- Assistant Professor of Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons.

External links

Murray Matters , Vol. 10 #2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Martin Henry Canadian expatriate academics in the United States Canadian medical researchers Canadian microbiologists Canadian people of Scottish descent Dalhousie University alumni Canadian molecular biologists History of genetics People from Truro, Nova Scotia 1896 births 1945 deaths McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni Canadian expatriates in France