Cluny MacPherson
| Doctor Cluny Macpherson MD | |
|---|---|
 Colonel Dr. Cluny Macpherson in Egypt, September 1915 | |
| Born |
March 18, 1879 St. John's, Newfoundland |
| Died |
November 16, 1966 (aged 87) St. John's, Newfoundland |
| Education |
Methodist College (St. John’s) McGill University |
| Occupation | Physician, Officer |
| Known for | Inventor of the gas mask |
| Board member of |
International Grenfell Association (IGA) Grenfell Association, Newfoundland St. John’s Clinical Society |
| Spouse(s) | Eleanora Barbara Thompson (O.B.E., Dame of Order of St. John of Jerusalem) (m. 1902–64) |
| Children |
Emma Allison (1903–1971) Campbell Leonard (1907–1973) |
Cluny Macpherson CMG FRCS (18 March 1879 in St. John's, Newfoundland – 16 November 1966) was a Physician and the inventor of the gas mask.[1]
During the First World War the German army used poison gas for the first time, against Allied troops at Ypres, Belgium in 1915. A soldier's only protection was to breathe through a handkerchief or other small piece of fabric soaked in urine.
The first iteration of the gas mask created by Macpherson in 1915 was a 50.5 cm x 48.0 cm canvas hood, treated with chlorine-absorbing chemicals, and fitted with a transparent mica eyepiece. This was the first general issue gas countermeasure to be used by the British Army. The Rooms Provincial Museum (St. John's, NL) has the prototype of this hood as well as later version gas masks with box respirators worn by soldiers in battle.[2]
For the box respirator, Macpherson used a helmet taken from a captured German prisoner and added eyepieces and a breathing tube. The helmet was treated with chemicals that would absorb the chlorine used in the gas attacks. This Newfoundlander's invention was the most important protective device of the First World War, protecting countless soldiers from blindness, disfigurement or injury to their throats and lungs.[3] For his services, he was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1918.[4]
Macpherson received his medical education from Methodist College and McGill University. Macpherson started the first St. John Ambulance Brigade in Newfoundland after working with the St. John Ambulance Association.[5]
Macpherson served as the principal medical officer for the St. John Ambulance Brigade of the first Newfoundland Regiment during World War I. Macpherson began researching methods of protection against the poison gas and invented the Macpherson respirator (gas mask) in 1916.
After suffering a war injury, Macpherson returned to Newfoundland to serve as the director of the military medical service and later served as the president of the St. John's Clinical Society and the Newfoundland Medical Association. Macpherson was awarded many honours for his contributions to medical science.
Macpherson married Eleanora Thompson in 1902. Their home at 65 Rennie’s Mill Road, where he served as secretary, treasurer and registrar for the Newfoundland Medical Society now has historic designation. Their son, Campbell Leonard Macpherson (1907 – 1973), became the third Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland in 1957 and in 1965 served as president of the Macpherson family business, Royal Stores, Ltd., after the death of his uncle, Harold Macpherson (1884-1963), a breeder and world authority on Newfoundland dogs.[6]
References
- ↑ "Gas Mask - Incredible Inventions". Cool Canada. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ↑ "Macpherson Gas Hood . Accession #980.222". The Rooms Provincial Museum Archives (St. John’s, NL). Retrieved 5 Aug 2017.
- ↑ Brown, J.J. (1967). The Inventors: Great Ideas in Canadian Enterprise. McClelland and Stewart. ASIN B001F37X8I.
- ↑ "No. 30721". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1918. p. 6515.
- ↑ "Dr. Cluny Macpherson fonds COLL-002". Faculty of Medicine Founders' Archive. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ↑ Macpherson, Harold (1937). The Newfoundland dog. IN: The Book of Newfoundland, volume 1. St. John's, NL: Newfoundland Book Publishers, Ltd. p. 133-140.