Robert George Ferguson, OBE, (12 September 1883 – 1964) was a pioneer in North America's fight against tuberculosis who worked for the introduction of free medical treatment.
As Medical Director, and later as General Superintendent of the Saskatchewan Anti-Tuberculosis League Canada, he achieved many firsts for the province, including:
1921, provincial survey of school children: 54% of non-Indigenous children and 92.5% of Indigenous children had positive reactions to tuberculin tests indicating infection or exposure 1929, First province in Canada to provide free treatment of tuberculosis. First province to initiate a vaccination program for its sanatorium personnel (student nurses, 1938) and the First Nations population (infants, 1930). 1941–1947, First province to conduct province-wide tuberculosis surveys Furthermore, Ferguson was a pioneer in long-term BCG vaccine research, quite controversial at the time.
Biography
Robert George Ferguson was born on 12 September 1883 to Robert Ferguson and Margaret Jane Fisher. The couple had moved from Kincardine township in Ontario, Canada to North Dakota, USA in 1881, in part due to concerns about Margaret's health. Her family had a history of tuberculosis. At the time of R.G.'s birth, the family lived on a farm near Joliette, North Dakota.
In 1902, Robert sent George to Canada to look for a possible land purchase. After traveling to Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton, George recommended the purchase of already cultivated land near downtown Yorkton, a town by a railway line. On his recommendation, Robert purchased three quarter sections of land (the east half of section 27, and the northeast quarter of section 22, township 25, range 4) on July 21, 1902. The following summer, in 1903, the family moved to the homestead near Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada.
George's education was intermittent, with some periods of winter schooling interspersed with farm work, farm management and homesteading. He passed his grade 8 exams at age 15, after 3 years of absence. In 1904, at age 20, he began attending Wesley College in Winnipeg, with the goal of high school matriculation (grades 9–12). Following his father's death in 1906, he returned to school to complete his course of studies.
At first Ferguson planned a career in the Church. He carried out mission field work in Alberta in 1908 and 1912. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1910, with a Bronze Medal in Arts, and was selected Senior Stick by classmates. However, his voice was not considered strong enough to support preaching, and in 1912, he enrolled in the Manitoba College of Medicine. In 1915, while still a student, he briefly took over the administration of the Manitoba Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Ninette, Manitoba for David Alexander Stewart. In his final year of medical school Ferguson worked part-time in the laboratory of S. J. S. Pierce, making typhoid vaccine for the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). In 1916 Ferguson graduated second in his class in medicine, earning another Bronze Medal. Ferguson's post-graduate work included training at the London Hospital in England, and at Harvard School of Medicine, Harvard University.
His two youngest brothers, Vernon and Frank had by then enrolled at the same University and subsequently left school to join the CEF. Vernon joined in 1915 and was wounded at Ypres as a member of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Highland Light Infantry. He received the Mons Star, contracted tuberculosis and died in 1930. His youngest brother Frank was discharged from the CEF and joined No. 87 Squadron RAF. Frank flew a Sopwith Dolphin and was shot down by Bavarian Ace, Michael Hutterer, near the German-Canadian lines (Marcoyne) on the evening of September 3, 1918. Hutterer was a member of Jagdstaffel 23. Second Lt. Frank Ferguson is buried at Arras Road Cemetery near Roclincourt, France.
Ferguson married Helen Ross of Wynyard, Saskatchewan on July 5, 1916, after a four-year engagement. They had seven children: Robert Ross, Helen (Hart), Margaret (Love, later Fallis), Patricia (Motherwell, later Dyck), Sheelagh (Barrable), John Vincent, and David. John Vincent (Jackie), twin of Sheelagh, died in infancy, on December 9, 1925.
In 1929 RG Ferguson wrote, The Wood Fairies' Christmas Deed for his 6 surviving children. In 2014 this story was published, made available via Amazon with proceeds donated to the Lung Association of Saskatchewan. A short animated feature of the story was filmed and uploaded to YouTube. Ferguson's wife Helen was also an accomplished artist which is detailed in her biography, Her Legacy: The Life and Art of Helen FJ Ross Ferguson (Amazon).