Robert Tait McKenzie ( MacKenzie) (May 26, 1867 – April 28, 1938) was a Canadian physician, educator, sculptor, athlete, soldier and Scouter. Born in Ramsay Township,

Lanark County Lanark County is a county located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is Perth, which was first settled in 1816.Brown, Howard Morton, 1984. Lanark Legacy, Nineteenth Century Glimpses of on Ontario County. Corporation of the Cou ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, he attended

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 ...

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 ...

as an undergraduate and medical student, and was an instructor in its medical school beginning in 1894. In 1904, he moved to the United States to teach at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. In the 1930s, he returned to the county of his birth, retiring to the

Mill of Kintail The Mill of Kintail Conservation Area is a preserve operated by the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority, in Mississippi Mills, Ontario, Canada. The preserve features an 1830s grist mill that was a former summer home and sculpture studio of ...

in Almonte. He pioneered physical fitness programs in Canada. During World War I, his methods and inventions for restoring and rehabilitating wounded soldiers laid a foundation for modern physiotherapy practices.

Biography

McKenzie was born on May 26, 1867, in the township of Ramsay (now part of the Town of Mississippi Mills), in Ontario's Lanark County. A childhood friend was

James Naismith James Naismith (; November 6, 1861November 28, 1939) was a Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, and sports coach, best known as the inventor of the game of basketball. After moving to the United States, he wrote ...

, the inventor of

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, with whom he attended

. As a child, McKenzie did not regard himself as an athlete, saying, "Looking back with an eye of memory I see a rather delicate child, sensitive at being called pale-faced, a roamer of the woods and fields with a mind filled with romance that

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

and

Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought ...

alone could instill, going unwillingly to school, distracted by thoughts of the Deerslayer..." Robert Tait McKenzie signature on

In preparation for

McGill McGill is a surname of Scottish and Irish origin, from which the names of many places and organizations are derived. It may refer to: People * McGill (surname) (including a list of individuals with the surname) * McGill family (Monrovia), a promin ...

he attended Ottawa Collegiate Institute (currently known as

Lisgar Collegiate Institute Lisgar Collegiate Institute is an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board secondary school in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The school is located in downtown Ottawa by the Rideau Canal. History In 1843, a grammar school with 40 paying students ...

) in 1883 at nearby Ottawa, Ontario.

McGill University

This attitude changed after he enrolled at

in 1885.Jean S. McGill, ''The Joy of Effort: A Biography of R. Tait McKenzie'' (Clay Publishing Co.: Oshawa, 1980), 10-11. A pre-med major, he developed a great appreciation for and attraction to athletics and physical training. McKenzie became involved in acrobatics and

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

; set a 5-foot, 9-inch high jump record; ran

hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

; boxed; played football; and was on the tug-of-war team. In 1889, he won the Wickstead gold medal, which made him an acknowledged gymnastic champion. McKenzie found his athletic abilities focused on sports that did not solely require strength or stamina, but rather skill, coordination, and practice. During his senior year at McGill, McKenzie was an intern at the University Hospital. He graduated from

in 1892 ''Medicinæ Doctorem et Chirurgiæ Magistrum'', and then got an internship at

Montreal General Hospital The Montreal General Hospital (MGH) (french: Hôpital Général de Montréal) is a hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada established in the years 1818-1820. The hospital received its charter in 1823. It is currently part of the McGill University ...

. After graduating, McKenzie gained experience as a physician and surgeon, developed his own medical practice and became an anatomy instructor at McGill. He became convinced of the need for preventive medicine.Jean S. McGill, ''The Joy of Effort: A Biography of R. Tait McKenzie'' (Clay Publishing Co.: Oshawa, 1980), 22. Training and conditioning of the body, he believed, would prevent disease, physical breakdown and accidents, so he developed a program of physical exercise. In 1894, he became the personal family physician of the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

, the Marquis of Aberdeen. He spent 15 months in the Governor General's household, where he mingled with various political figures.Jean S. McGill, ''The Joy of Effort: A Biography of R. Tait McKenzie'' (Clay Publishing Co.: Oshawa, 1980), 37. During the 1890s, McKenzie asked McGill to develop a department and school of physical education, but the university declined, citing lack of money.Joseph Hanaway and Richard L. Cruess, ''McGill Medicine – 1885 to 1936'' (McGill-Queen’s University Press: Montreal, 1996), 55. As a compromise, in 1898, McGill appointed him as Medical Director of Physical Training, the first such appointee at a Canadian university. He wanted to customize the athletic programs for three categories of student: athletic, sedentary, or bookworm, and the school allowed him to start physical examinations for incoming students. Amid his duties at McGill and his medical practice in Montreal, McKenzie sought escape in art. He first turned to watercolour sketching, and always kept a small notebook in his pocket in which he would scribble whenever something caught his eye. His interest in sculpting was a result of his extensive knowledge of human anatomy, his desire to portraying athletics artistically, and the limitations of portraying musculature in two-dimensional art forms.Joseph Hanaway and Richard L. Cruess, ''McGill Medicine – 1885 to 1936'' (McGill-Queen’s University Press: Montreal, 1996), 57. McKenzie's first untrained sculptural effort was a series of masks known as ''Violent Effort, Breathlessness, Fatigue and Exhaustion''. To achieve these masks, he studied facial muscles under physical and emotional stress.Jean S. McGill, ''The Joy of Effort: A Biography of R. Tait McKenzie'' (Clay Publishing Co.: Oshawa, 1980), 38. His research led to an article, "The Facial Expression of Violent Effort, Breathlessness and Fatigue," published around 1900 in the ''Journal of Anatomy and Physiology'' in London. His first sculptural piece in the round was ''The Sprinter''. The design of the piece involved measurements of limbs and torsos of many athletes, including McGill students. ''The Sprinter'' was second in a series of over 200 works that included athletic figures, military figures, busts, masks, friezes and medallions. These works of art are displayed all over

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 ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. His sculpture earned him membership in the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

University of Pennsylvania

In 1904, McKenzie took a position at the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, which offered him a permanent faculty position and use of the university's a new gymnasium, football stadium, running track and other recently constructed facilities. His position as Director of the Physical Education Department came with the opportunity to develop, test and implement his theories on health and athletics. J William White Memorial (closeup)

While in Philadelphia, he also worked closely with Lord Robert Baden-Powell, founder of Scouting. In 1907, McKenzie met and married musician and poet Ethel O'Neil, a native of

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

, while on a voyage to

. As a longtime supporter and spectator at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

, McKenzie often exhibited works at the competition of fine arts.Major James Farquharson Leys, “The Life of a Remarkable Man,” ''The Canadian Army Journal'' (January 1955), 102. To commemorate the Olympic Games scheduled for 1912 Stockholm in, the American Olympic Committee commissioned him to create a sports medallion. The result was one of his most famous works, the ''Joy of Effort'' medallion. Within years, the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

started to use the motif in Asia. Later, at the 1932 Summer Olympics, McKenzie would win a medal for a sculpture. In 1915, with the outbreak of 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 ...

, McKenzie made his way to England to enlist with the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

. Eager to volunteer his services as a physician and surgeon, McKenzie chose instead to enlist with the Royal Army Medical Corps after encountering some red tape and delays in his paperwork. Given the commission of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

(and later becoming Major), they quickly assigned him to the physical training program for new soldiers. His first task was to inspect and report on the condition of the training camps. Once the organization of the training camps was completed, he spent six months working out of

orthopedic Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

care centers, with some of his work involving taking individuals disabled by war and designing specific prosthetic apparatus that would suit their needs.Frank Cosentino, ''Almonte’s Brothers of the Wind: R. Tait McKenzie and James Naismith'' (General Store Publishing House: Burnstown, 1996), 117. He also spent a large portion of his time helping plastic surgeon Dr. William L. Clark rehabilitate those whose faces had been disfigured by war. After the war, McKenzie returned to his position at the

. In 1930, he left his post at the University as teaching there was no longer an enjoyable part of his life because of the bureaucracy that had become attached to his job.

Almonte

In McKenzie's final years, he was an internationally recognized figure and comparatively well off, so that he had the ability to retire anywhere. In 1931, he received an invitation from the Mayor of Almonte to return to his hometown to participate in the celebration of Almonte's 50th Anniversary of Incorporation.Frank Cosentino, ''Almonte’s Brothers of the Wind: R. Tait McKenzie and James Naismith'' (General Store Publishing House: Burnstown, 1996), 148. During the celebrations, the mayor offered McKenzie "The Freedom of Almonte" - a local award of recognition. While in town, he decided to explore his old boyhood haunts and came across the old

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

known as Baird's Mill. The mayor encouraged McKenzie and his wife to purchase the property. The property had long since become abandoned; however, it was situated in a picturesque setting, making a perfect retirement home that would kindle McKenzie's artistic imagination. After Ethel O'Neil McKenzie's death in 1954, the Mill of Kintail, as McKenzie and his wife Ethel renamed the property, passed eventually into management by the local natural resource management office, the

Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority The Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) (formerly Mississippi Valley Conservation (MVC)) is a conservation authority in the province of Ontario. It is headquartered in Carleton Place, Ontario and serves a 4450 km watershed locat ...

, who open the museum to the public from May to October. During his retirement, McKenzie took advantage of the peaceful surroundings of Almonte. Being a man who could never sit still for very long, a typical summer's day would find him working in his studio, walking in the woods, swimming, canoeing, going into town or giving presentations to local groups. His spirit refused to allow him to slow down, despite warnings from his physician about his deteriorating heart, and consequently, McKenzie collapsed suddenly and died on April 28, 1938.

Legacy

R. Tait McKenzie's influence was so strong in the fields of physical education, medicine, the arts, and the military that hundreds of people expressed sadness and felt personal loss in his passing, many sending condolences to his widow, Ethel. His more than 200 works of art are seen around the world. A collection of his work can be seen at his former residence, the Mill of Kintail, also known as the R. Tait McKenzie Memorial Museum at the

Mill of Kintail Conservation Area The Mill of Kintail Conservation Area is a preserve operated by the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority, in Mississippi Mills, Ontario, Canada. The preserve features an 1830s grist mill that was a former summer home and sculpture studio of ...

in Almonte. The Joseph B. Wolffe Collection of R. Tait McKenzie Sculpture of Athletes is housed on the campus of the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

. Near the end of his life, McKenzie said he wanted his heart to be buried in front of the Scottish-American War Memorial that he had created in

Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of ...

. When he died in Philadelphia, this request was denied by the "corporation of that city", but the organ was subsequently buried at the nearby St. Cuthbert churchyard. An elementary school in Almonte was named after him in 1998. Tait McKenzie Centre is a sports facility named after him at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

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 anch ...

, Canada.

Honors and awards

Fellow #2 in the National Academy of Kinesiology

Selected works

* ''

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

in 1723'' (1910–1914),

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Duplicates are at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

, Chapel Hill;

Philadelphia Free Library The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves Philadelphia. It is the 13th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the City of Philadelphia gover ...

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and

Brookgreen Gardens Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in South Carolina. The property includes several themed gardens featuring American figurative sculptures, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails throu ...

, South Carolina. * J. William White Memorial Drinking Fountain (1919–1921),

Rittenhouse Square Rittenhouse Square is a neighborhood, including a public park, in Center City Philadelphia. The park is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century. The neighborho ...

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. * '' The Reverend George Whitefield'' (1914–1919),

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. * ''The Homecoming'' (1922),

Cambridge War Memorial Cambridge War Memorial is a war memorial on Hills Road, Cambridge, outside Cambridge University Botanic Garden. It comprises a bronze statue of a marching soldier by Canadian sculptor Robert Tait McKenzie, known as "The Homecoming" or someti ...

Hills Road, Cambridge Hills Road is an arterial road (part of the A1307) in southeast Cambridge, England. It runs between Regent Street at the junction with Lensfield Road and Gonville Place (the A603) to the northwest and a roundabout by the Cambridge Biom ...

, England. * ''The Victor'' (1925), War Memorial, Woodbury, New Jersey. * ''

Edgar Fahs Smith Edgar Fahs Smith (May 23, 1854 – May 3, 1928) was an American scientist who is best known today for his interests in the history of chemistry. He served as provost of the University of Pennsylvania from 1911 to 1920, was deeply involved in the ...

'' (1925–26),

, Philadelphia. *

Scots American War Memorial The Scottish American Memorial, or Scots American War Memorial, is in West Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh. It was called "The Call 1914", and it was erected in 1927 and shows a kilted infantryman looking towards Castle Rock, Edinburgh, Ca ...

(1927), Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, Scotland. * '' General James Wolfe'' (1927),

Greenwich Park Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of the Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers , and is part of the Greenwich World Heritag ...

, London, England. * ''Bust of General John Grubb Parke'' (1930),

Vicksburg National Military Park Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the American Civil War Battle of Vicksburg, waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. The park, located in Vicksburg, Mississippi (flanking the Mississippi River), also commemorates the greater ...

, Vicksburg, Mississippi. * ''Bust of Governor Andrew G. Curtin'' (1930),

, Vicksburg, Mississippi. * World Wars Monument (1932),

Girard College Girard College is an independent college preparatory five-day boarding school located on a 43-acre campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school was founded and permanently endowed from the shipping and banking fortune of Stephen Girard upon ...

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. * Monument to Jane A. Delano and the Nurses Who Died in Service in World War I (1933), Red Cross Headquarters, Washington D.C. * The Fields Medal (1933), awarded at the International Congress of Mathematicians. * Three bronzes at Mercersburg Academy (1935), depicting the school's first headmaster William Mann Irvine, Rhodes scholar Robert Michelet, and Olympian Bill Carr. * ''Rejoice Young Man in Thy Youth'' (1936), 13th issue of the Society of Medalists. * Highlander Monument (1936), Darien, Georgia.Highlander Monument
from SIRIS.

''The Ideal Scout''

His most famous sculpture is ''

The Ideal Scout ''The Ideal Scout'', also known as ''The Boy Scout'', is the most famous work by Canadian sculptor R. Tait McKenzie (1867–1938). The original statue stood in front of the Cradle of Liberty Council at 22nd and Winter Streets in Philadelphia, Penn ...

'' (1937), also known as ''The Boy Scout''. His original 1915 statuette is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The first full-size casting was placed in front of the

Cradle of Liberty Council The Cradle of Liberty Council (#525) is a Boy Scouts of America council created in 1996 with the merger of the former Philadelphia Council (covering the city and county of Philadelphia) and the former Valley Forge Council (covering Delaware and ...

in Philadelphia in 1937, and stood there until 2013. Replicas can be found at Boy Scout offices across the United States, as well as at

Gilwell Park Gilwell Park is a camp site and activity centre in East London located in the Sewardstonebury area of Waltham Abbey, within Epping Forest, near the border with Chingford. The site is owned by The Scout Association, is used by Scouting and Gu ...

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 ...

''Other Sculptures''

File:Franklin at Penn statue.JPG, ''Benjamin Franklin in 1723'' (1910–1914), University of Pennsylvania File:War memorial, Cambridge, England - DSCF2182.JPG, ''The Homecoming'',

, (1922), England File:The Victor by R. Tait McKenzie.jpg, ''The Victor'' (1924), Woodbury, New Jersey File:Edgar Fahs Smith - IMG 6621.JPG, ''

'' (1925–26), University of Pennsylvania File:Wolfe statue.jpg, ''General James Wolfe'' (1927),

, London, England File:Jane Delano Memorial.jpg, Jane Delano Monument (1933), Washington, DC

References

* * * *

External links

Mill of Kintail Museum

R. Tait McKenzie

R. Tait McKenzie Outreach Exhibit

Farabloc Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, R. Tait 1867 births 1938 deaths Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian sculptors McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni People from Lanark County Artists from Ontario Royal Army Medical Corps officers Artists from Philadelphia Canadian people of Scottish descent Olympic bronze medalists in art competitions British Army personnel of World War I University of Pennsylvania faculty Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Ontario Sculptors from Pennsylvania 20th-century sculptors 19th-century sculptors National Sculpture Society members Lisgar Collegiate Institute Olympic competitors in art competitions