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Dr. Joseph Morrin (1794-1861)
Dr. Joseph Morrin was a 19th century Quebec doctor, teacher, philanthropist, politician, and staunch Scottish Presbyterian.
Dr. Joseph Morrin by Théophile Hamel
(LHSQ)
Born in Scotland in 1794, Joseph Morrin came to Quebec at the age of four. In his teenage years, he worked as a surgeon's apprentice to James Cockburn, who had established a hospital in lower town for sailors. There were no proper medical schools at the time in Canada. This hands-on education gave him the credentials to accompany soldiers wounded in the War of 1812 back to Britain. There, he refined his knowledge by studying at the London Hospital for a few years.
He returned to Quebec in 1814, setting up his own sailors' hospital in the lower town in 1819 and later working at the Hôtel Dieu. In 1826, he was a founding member of the Société Médicale de Québec as well as its first president. In the mid-1840s, Morrin helped establish the first two medical schools in Quebec City as well as the Beauport Lunatic Asylum (today's Hôpital Robert-Giffard).
Morrin also served as a mayor for two one-year terms in the 1850s. He endeavoured to obtain regular ship connections between Quebec and Great Britain. He also fought to have Quebec City recognized as the permanent capital of Canada, to no avail.
Upon retiring, Morrin bestowed money and property to three of his friends for a “permanent memorial of his regard for the city of Quebec.” Morrin College was founded “for the instruction of youth... in the higher branches of learning, and especially for young men for the Ministry, for the Church of Scotland.”
Morrin's gesture and life is emblematic of the Scottish Presbyterian ideal of the time. Wealth is not to be consumed personally but saved and reinvested in charitable deeds. As Scottish-American steel magnate Andrew Carnegie succinctly stated: “the man who dies rich dies disgraced.”
Morrin's legacy lives on today in a series of charitable funds distributed to students as well as the Morrin Centre.
Dr. Joseph Morrin by Théophile Hamel
(LHSQ)
He returned to Quebec in 1814, setting up his own sailors' hospital in the lower town in 1819 and later working at the Hôtel Dieu. In 1826, he was a founding member of the Société Médicale de Québec as well as its first president. In the mid-1840s, Morrin helped establish the first two medical schools in Quebec City as well as the Beauport Lunatic Asylum (today's Hôpital Robert-Giffard).
Morrin also served as a mayor for two one-year terms in the 1850s. He endeavoured to obtain regular ship connections between Quebec and Great Britain. He also fought to have Quebec City recognized as the permanent capital of Canada, to no avail.
Upon retiring, Morrin bestowed money and property to three of his friends for a “permanent memorial of his regard for the city of Quebec.” Morrin College was founded “for the instruction of youth... in the higher branches of learning, and especially for young men for the Ministry, for the Church of Scotland.”
Morrin's gesture and life is emblematic of the Scottish Presbyterian ideal of the time. Wealth is not to be consumed personally but saved and reinvested in charitable deeds. As Scottish-American steel magnate Andrew Carnegie succinctly stated: “the man who dies rich dies disgraced.”
Morrin's legacy lives on today in a series of charitable funds distributed to students as well as the Morrin Centre.
© 2010  Literary and Historical Society of Quebec All rights reservedPhoto: The Prison in 1830 (James Pattison Cockburn, ANC) Contact: info@morrin.org |