Alvin T Mathers

Memorable Manitobans: Alvin Trotter Mathers (1888-1960)

Psychiatrist, educator.

Born at Neepawa on 20 December 1888, son of newspaperman Christopher H. Mathers (c1856-1893) and Marianne Trotter, nephew of Thomas G. Mathers, he graduated from the University of Manitoba Medical School in 1913 and was appointed an Assistant Professor of Medicine there in 1914. During the First World War, he served in the Royal Canadian Army unit at the Tuxedo Barracks (1917-1918). He was a pioneer psychiatrist, directing the Manitoba Psychopathic Hospital from 1919 to 1942 when he resigned over a dispute about his duties and responsibilities.

He served as President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (1942-1943), and Dean of the University of Manitoba Medical School (1931-1949), where he established an ethnic quota system of entry for which he was later heavily criticized. In 1949 he was given an honorary doctorate by the University.

He died at the Deer Lodge Hospital on 4 January 1960 and was buried in St. John’s Cemetery.

Sources:

Birth registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

1891 Canada census, Ancestry.

“The harvest of death,” Manitoba Free Press, 28 December 1893, page 1.

“Dr. A. T. Mathers, former Dean of Medicine, dies,” Winnipeg Free Press, 5 January 1960, page 4.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by J. M. Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 30 June 2014 http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/mathers_at.shtml

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Winnipeg.ca/WCPI/action.cfm?CollectionName=Thorlakson%20Manitoba%20Medical%20College%20Collection&mode=browse&display=long from Tholakson Manitoba Medical College at U of M Dr. Alvin Trotter Mathers, Born 1888 In Neepawa, Mb, Son Of A Newspaper Editor Who Died Prematurely. After Spending A Year At Normal School Alvin Taught For 3 Years. He Entered Manitoba Medical College, Graduated In 1913 With Academic Distinction. He Was On Staff Of The Municipal Hospital And Was In Charge Of Infectious Disease Until Is Own Health Suffered And He Was Sent To Ninette Sanatorium Where He Assisted The Staff. He Joined The Canadian Army Medical Corps In Charge Of Military Medical Wards At Deer Lodge Hospital. In 1918 The Prov. Mental Hospital Services Were Reorganizing Psychiatric Care And He Became The Provincial Psychiatrist After A Period Of Study Of Psychiatry In North America And Europe, A Post He Held For 24 Years. He Was The Only Psychiatrist In Manitoba Engaged In Private Consultative Practice. He Became A Well Known Expert In Forensic Psychiatry. He Served As Dean Of Medicine, Manitoba Medical College From 1931 To 1949; Pres. Of Royal College Of Physicians & Surgeons Of Can. 1942-1943, And Of Medical Council Of Canada, & A Founder Of Assoc. Of Canadian Medical Colleges. He Died In 1960

WWI -CEF Name: MATHERS, ALVIN TROTTER Rank: CPT Reference: RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 6029 - 4

Name: Alvin Mathers Birth - Death: 1888-1960 Source Citation: Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 5: September, 1958-August, 1961. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1962. (BioIn 5)

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