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Title
Date(s)
- 1913-1983 (Creation)
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Fonds
Extent and medium
20 m of multimedia records (157 boxes)
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Name of creator
Biographical history
James Arnold Dauphinee was born in New Westminster, B.C. on January 9, 1903, the son of Lindsay Arnold and Isabella St. Clair. He graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1922 and received a Ph.D.(biochemistry; 1929) and M.D. (1930) specializing in internal medicine from the University of Toronto. From 1938 to 1941 he was engaged in private practice. During World War II he served with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps and held the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) for his work at a Belgian military hospital. Following his military service, he returned to private practice in 1945. He was appointed professor of pathological chemistry and head of the department at the University of Toronto in 1947, succeeding Dr. Andrew Hunter. He remained as head until 1966.
He was married to Doris Manning in 1929. Following her death, he married her sister, Muriel. He died at Sunnybrook Medical Centre, Toronto, after a lengthy illness on August 18, 1983.
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The papers of James Arnold Dauphinee are a particularly fine representation of their type. Highly intelligent and inventive, Dr. Dauphinee had an international reputation in his field, pathological chemistry. He maintained a broad range of other interest, from music to philately, and was known to play the occasional game of golf. He was something of a packrat but, fortunately, also a meticulous record keeper. His papers are of value to the reader from a number of perspectives. A history of the Department of Pathological Chemistry could not be written without reference to them. Dr. Dauphinee's files cover the years 1934-1972 and he also preserved some of the papers of his predecessor as head, Andrew Hunter. The Department is not well represented elsewhere in the holdings in the University Archives.
Dr. Dauphinee was very interested in new developments in research. After his return from military service during World War II, he became deeply involved in the study of the effects of radiation on the human body. His papers are a rich resource for this pioneering work, as they are for the work he began as a medical student on arginase and the functioning of the liver and carried on throughout the rest of his life. Dr. Dauphinee wrote numerous scientific papers, many of which were published. Some very interesting ones exist in draft form only, but contain his evolving ideas on problems being studied. He also believed in the wider dissemination of information, and was much in demand as a speaker. His papers contain many of his addresses and document his enthusiastic support of organizations such as the Royal Canadian. Institute.
He was also keenly interested in professional development and the maintenance of high standards in his discipline. He belonged to a large number of professional associations and devoted much energy to some of them, including the I College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. The qualities evident here and in his research were also reflected in his relationship with his patients. His concern for their well-being is evident in his extensive patient files and in the records he kept while on active service during World War II.
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Dr. Dauphinee maintained an extensive-card index of his library and of the journals and books he had read. His penchant for organization was evident, as well, in his papers which were kept in very good order. Over half of the total was housed in three-ring binders carefully labelled. The file titles in the finding aid often reflect his arrangement. Where it was not evident, file titles were derived from the content and placed in the appropriate series.
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Records containing personal health information are subject to review under Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. All other records are open
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Dates of creation revision deletion
-Original finding aid updated by Garron Wells, 2010
-Added to AtoM by Karen Suurtamm, November 2015
-Note on 2010 finding aid: This finding aid has been slightly revised and updated from the original which was written in the mid 1980s. The section on Restrictions has been deleted and replaced with the updated Access statement. It reflects current legislative requirements relating to privacy.