Wilder Penfield, 1891-1976, Neurosurgeon

A set of four se-tenant stamps honouring the accomplishments of Canadian physicians was issued on March 15, 1991. Wilder Graves Penfield is recognized as one of Canada's foremost neurosurgeons. Born on January 26, 1891 in Spokane, Washington, he came from a family of doctors. Initially graduating in literature from Princeton, Penfield then continued his studies in medicine and science at Oxford and at Johns Hopkins University. At Oxford he met two of his mentors: Dr. William Osler, eminent Canadian professor of medicine (honoured on a Canadian stamp in 1969) and Sir Charles Sherrington, a renowned neurophysiologist. He developed a life-long interest in neurosurgery, particularly as it applies to the treatment of epilepsy. After seven years at the New York Neurological Institute, he joined the faculty at McGill University in 1928. In 1934, he founded the Montreal Neurological Institute. He was the Institute's director until he retired in 1960. One of his innovative surgical procedures became known as the "Montreal Procedure". He also had a second career writing historical novels and his autobiography which was published a year after his death in 1977. Toronto designer René Milot portrayed the four doctors in front of buildings significant to their individual careers. Dr. Penfield faces the Montreal Neurological Institute.