William John Virgin (16 December 1905 – 18 October 1997) was a serving

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the former

Indian Medical Service The Indian Medical Service (IMS) was a military medical service in British India, which also had some civilian functions. It served during the two World Wars, and remained in existence until the independence of India in 1947. Many of its officer ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He was the first Principal of

Dhaka Medical College Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (abbreviated DMCH) is a public medical college and hospital located in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. It houses medical school as well as a tertiary care hospital on one campus. The country's first eve ...

. Virgin was born in Toronto, Canada on 16 December 1905. He served primarily in India and, after its formation,

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Career

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 June 1933 conferred on Virgin the degree Doctor of Medicine. He was an

orthopedic surgeon 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 ...

by profession. He joined the

, where he was promoted to Lieutenant on 1 August 1933 n prob and Captain on 1 August 1934 n prob(17/2/36). He received a promotion to the post of

on 1 August 1943. He was posted in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

from 1943 to 1947, where he was appointed as the Civil Surgeon of Dhaka. Virgin was made the head of the committee to establish a medical college in Dhaka.

was started on 10 July 1946, and Virgin was made its founding principal, as well as the first superintendent of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He also served as the first ever Dean of Faculty of Medicine at the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

. On 21 December 1946, Virgin succeeded Major F. H. A. L. Davidson, IMS, as the medical officer of

Dhaka Central Jail Dhaka Central Jail was the largest jail in Bangladesh, located in the old section of Dhaka, the country's capital. The jail has been used to house criminals as well as political prisoners, especially during the Language Movement of 1952, the 6 ...

. Virgin served as the principal of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital until 14 August 1947. Later, he joined the department of orthopedic surgery of the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

as a senior research fellow. Later in life, he wrote a book on his experience in India titled ''The India I Knew: Experiences of a Canadian Orthopaedic Surgeon over 50 Years'', which was published in 1988.

Personal life

In 1934, Virgin married Zelma Crone, with whom he had five children. He died in

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 ancho ...

on 18 October 1997 at the age of 91.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Virgin, William John Indian Medical Service officers Academic staff of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital Academic staff of the University of Dhaka University of Toronto alumni Canadian orthopedic surgeons 1905 births 1997 deaths Canadian people in British India Canadian expatriates in England