Clarence Meredith Hincks (1885-1964) is often regarded as the father of mental health in Canada.

He was instrumental in establishing the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene in 1918, and became its director in 1924. He dedicated his career to investigating the cause and relief of psychological disorders, a search that continues today in the work of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

This biography sets down the major episodes in his career, and relates them to his personal life and his struggles with recurrent attacks of depression. The maturation of Canada’s perception of mental disease is largely due to pioneers like Hincks.

Charles G. Roland practised general medicine, was senior editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, and served as chair of the Department of Biomedical Communication at the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minnesota. He was Hannah Professor Emeritus of the History of Medicine at McMaster University and author of Courage under Siege: Disease, Starvation, and Death in the Warsaw Ghetto.

Jacques Bernier is professor of Canadian economics and social history, particularly of Quebec, at Laval University, Quebec City. Author of La médecine au Québec: Naissance et évolution d’une profession, he was president of the Canadian Society for the History of Medicine from 1995 to 1997.

Charles G. Roland's profile page