[Ahern, historian of medicine].
Michel Joseph Ahern began the historical study of the medical profession in Quebec in 1910, with the publication of a series of biographies entitled Notes pour servir à l'histoire de la médecine dans le Bas-Canada depuis la fondation de Québec jusqu'au commencement du XIXe siècle in the Bulletin médical de Québec. After his death, his son George used his extant notes to continue the publication of these texts and a subsequent one-volume compilation with the same title. Despite several weaknesses, this work remains an indispensable source for researchers interested in the medical history of Quebec. Prepared in the context of several commemorations at the beginning of the 20th Century such as the 300th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City, Ahern's texts were tributes to the founders of medicine in Quebec, irrespective of their status; consequently, this work is not a pantheon of great names in medicine in the period. Doctor Ahern strove for historical integrity, and consulted archives, historians, and the learned men o f his time.
Bernier
J
J
Département d'histoire, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.
D002170:Canada; D006663:Historiography; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century