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Invention of the Gas Mask
Dr. Cluny Macpherson was a Canadian physician. He was first enlisted in 1914. After moving around countries, he was eventually transferred to Gallipoli where he became an advisor on poisonous gas. During his time there, he invented the first gas mask to help defend against Germany. (Memorial University Libraries, n.d.).
Note that the image used here is not the one he designed. -
University of Toronto Antitoxin Laboratory Opens
Photo source: (The Varsity war supplement 1917).
With the goal of using horses to develop an antioxin against diphtheria, Dr. John G. FitzGerald invested his wife's inheritance in 1913 to build a small laboratory. This lead to the establishment of the University of Toronto Antitoxin Laboratory in 1914, which, in later years would become important in the production of insulin (Smith, n.d.). -
The Queenston-Chippawa Hydro-Electric Development
From 1917 to 1922 in Queenston, Ontario, the Queenston-Chippawa Hydro-Electric Development was being built by the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. It was regarded as "the world’s first true hydroelectric megaproject," (Parks Canada, n.d., para. 1). -
The Department of Health is Established
Photo source: (Influenza Epidemic Poster).
In reaction to the Spanish Flu pandemic, which hit Canada hard, killing over 50,000 Canadians, the federal government established the Department of Health in order to have a more organized system of healthcare (Parks Canada, n.d.). -
Insulin is Successfully Isolated for First Time
Photo source: (Frederick Banting and Charles Best with the first dog treated with insulin).
On this day at University of Toronto, Dr. Frederick Banting and Charles Best were able to isolate insulin from dogs and then use that insulin to regulate blood glucose levels in animals with diabetes symptoms. This research would be the precursor to use of insulin on humans (UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence, n.d.). -
The First Successful Variable-Pitch Propeller
In 1914, aeronautical engineer Wallace Rupert Turnbull went to Britain to help in the war by designing aeronautical devices. In that time he started working on the variable-pitch propeller, which was a new type of airplane propeller that was more efficient than the then current fixed-pitch propellers.
Turnbell perfected and patented the design in 1922, from when it would go on to change the future of aviation. (Phillipson and Poulin, 2008, para. 5) -
Insulin is Successfully Used on a Human
On January 11 1922, Leonard Thompson became the first person to be injected with insulin as a treatment for diabetes. Thompson experienced an allergic reaction from the injection due to an impurity in the insulin, but this was resolved by developing a way of improving the cow pancreas that the insulin is derived from (UMass Diabetes Center of Excellence, n.d.). -
The Snow Blower is Invented
After seeing how a grain thresher worked in 1894, Arthur Sicard was inspired to make a similar device for the purpose of clearing snow. In 1925, he had finished designing the snow blower and called it “la déneigeuse et souffleuse à neige Sicard,” and this machine would prove very important with the more frequent of automobiles requiring better snow clearing (Berry, 2020).