Peter MacCallum
Encyclopedia
Sir Peter MacCallum MC
(14 July 1885 – 4 March 1974) was a Scottish
-born Australia
n oncologist
and the co-founder and eponym of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne
.
Peter MacCallum was born in Glasgow
, Scotland
on 14 July 1885 and raised in Christchurch
, New Zealand
. He was sent to work at the age of 12. He was able to return to school and continued his entire education through a series of scholarships and part time work, eventually obtaining his medical degree in Edinburgh in 1914, just in time to join the British Army in France.
During the war
, he was awarded the Military Cross
and was twice mentioned in dispatches. In 1918, he was badly gassed and perhaps it was a result of ill health that his post war career concentrated on pathology and research.
In 1924, he was appointed to the Chair of Pathology at the University of Melbourne. Typically, he soon directed his energy and concern to one of the greatest medical challenges, the fight against cancer.
As Chairman of the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria from 1946, he was influential in the formation of the Cancer Institute in 1949. The first outpatient clinic opened in 1950 bore his name and the Institute was renamed the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute-‘The Peter Mac’- in his honour in 1986.
Professor Peter MacCallum was knighted
in 1953.
His vision created a cancer centre unsurpassed in the world, where humanity, caring service and relentless research share equal value. He believed that nothing but the best was good enough in the treatment of cancer. The Peter Mac is living testimony to his belief.
Sir Peter MacCallum died on 4 March 1974 at the age of 88. He had been widowed three times, and was survived by three daughters from his first marriage and a son from his second marriage.
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(14 July 1885 – 4 March 1974) was a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-born Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n oncologist
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
and the co-founder and eponym of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
Peter MacCallum was born in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
on 14 July 1885 and raised in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. He was sent to work at the age of 12. He was able to return to school and continued his entire education through a series of scholarships and part time work, eventually obtaining his medical degree in Edinburgh in 1914, just in time to join the British Army in France.
During the war
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he was awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
and was twice mentioned in dispatches. In 1918, he was badly gassed and perhaps it was a result of ill health that his post war career concentrated on pathology and research.
In 1924, he was appointed to the Chair of Pathology at the University of Melbourne. Typically, he soon directed his energy and concern to one of the greatest medical challenges, the fight against cancer.
As Chairman of the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria from 1946, he was influential in the formation of the Cancer Institute in 1949. The first outpatient clinic opened in 1950 bore his name and the Institute was renamed the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute-‘The Peter Mac’- in his honour in 1986.
Professor Peter MacCallum was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1953.
His vision created a cancer centre unsurpassed in the world, where humanity, caring service and relentless research share equal value. He believed that nothing but the best was good enough in the treatment of cancer. The Peter Mac is living testimony to his belief.
Sir Peter MacCallum died on 4 March 1974 at the age of 88. He had been widowed three times, and was survived by three daughters from his first marriage and a son from his second marriage.