George Ryerson
George Sterling Ansel Ryerson (born January 21, 1855 in Toronto , Ontario , Canada ; † May 20, 1925 ibid) was a Canadian medic , politician and the founder of the Canadian Red Cross Society , the Canadian branch of the Red Cross .
Career
Ryerson began studying medicine in New York in 1871 and later also studied in Cambridge, Ontario and at Trinity Medical School in Toronto. There he made his doctorate in medicine in 1876 . He then went to Europe to deepen his medical knowledge and acquire specialist knowledge. His stations included Paris , Edinburgh , London , Vienna and Heidelberg . He returned to Canada in 1879 and opened his practice in Toronto the following year. He also taught as a professor of ear, nose and throat diseases at Trinity Medical School and worked as a surgeon at Toronto General Hospital . Ryerson was also a surgeon with the Royal Gernadiers, including during the Northwest Rebellion .
In 1896, Ryerson received British Red Cross approval from Great Britain to set up a Canadian branch, giving birth to the Canadian Red Cross Society . In 1900 he was appointed envoy of this organization to the Canadian Army in South Africa and in 1914 he replaced John Morison Gibson as President of the Society. Ryerson was also a founding member of the Association of Medical Officers of the Canadian Militia, of which he served from 1908 to 1909, and of St. John Ambulance Canada, a non-profit organization in the field of first aid . From the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps Ryerson in 1915 Surgeon General Honorary and 1917 Honorary Colonel (approximately honorary colonel appointed).
Ryerson was also politically active and joined the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and the Protestant Protective Association . In 1893 he was elected to the Ontario Legislative Assembly, where he represented his hometown of Toronto. In 1894 he was re-elected. In the same year he was the new chairman of the Conservative Party in Ontario under discussion, but was defeated by George Frederick Marter. In 1896 Ryerson helped found the United Empire Loyalist Association. Due to his poor health, he did not stand for the new election in 1898. In 1902 he wanted to be re-elected, but was not nominated by the Conservative Party.
family
Ryerson was born into one of Toronto's most prominent families in 1855. He was the only child of Rev. George Airey Ryerson (1792-1882) and his third wife Isabella Dorcas Sterling (1817-1892). The father was a military officer, teacher and Catholic pastor who had three children from two previous marriages. George SA Ryerson was a nephew of the politician Egerton Ryerson and a cousin of the steel magnate Arthur Ryerson . On November 14, 1882, he married Mary Amelia Crowther (1860–1915) in Toronto, with whom he had five children: George Crowther Ryerson (1883–1915), Yoris Sterling Ryerson (1886-?), Eric Egerton Ryerson (1888–1951 ), Arthur Connaught Ryerson (1890–1952) and Laura Mary Ryerson (1892–1943).
The eldest son George served in the Canadian infantry during World War I and died in Ypres on April 23, 1915 . Ryerson immediately traveled to Europe by ship. His wife and daughter wanted to come and went on May 1, 1915 in New York as first class passengers on board the luxury steamer RMS Lusitania . The Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine on May 7, the day before her planned arrival in Liverpool . 1198 people died. Mary and Laura Ryerson boarded a lifeboat that overturned and hurled its occupants into the sea. 23-year-old Laura was rescued from the freezing water after hours, but Mary Ryerson drowned. Her body was never found.
On June 8, 1916, he married Elizabeth Van Hook Thomas, daughter of Edwin Ross Thomas and his wife Flora (née Lozier). In 1920 Ryerson retired from active professional life and settled with his wife in Niagara-on-the-Lake . Elizabeth died on September 4, 1924. Ryerson himself died on May 20, 1925 at the age of 70 in Toronto of complications from a heart attack .
swell
- George Ryerson . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
- George Ryerson. In: Database of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
- George Ryerson in Find A Grave
- Ryerson family tree
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ryerson, George |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ryerson, George Sterling Ansel (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian local politician and founder of the Canadian Red Cross Society |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 21, 1855 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Toronto , Ontario, Canada |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 20, 1925 |
| Place of death | Toronto , Ontario, Canada |