RS McLaughlin Chair in Surgery
THE STORY BEHIND THE NAME
Over the holidays, while visiting a colleague and friend
who was ill and admitted to Lakeridge Hospital in
Oshawa, I drove past the Parkwood National Historic
Site that is immediately next door to the hospital. For
those of you who are not familiar with Parkwood, it was
the family estate of Robert Samuel (RS) McLaughlin. As
many of you are aware, the RS McLaughlin Foundation
allocated funds to the Department of Surgery to establish
the RS McLaughlin Chair in Surgery which I have the
privilege of holding.
What you may not know is that during and just
after his lifetime, RS McLaughlin (affectionately known
as “Sam”) and the McLaughlin Foundation awarded
almost $200 million to the University of Toronto to a
number of different Departments and Institutes. The
McLaughlin Chair in the Department of Surgery was
established through the efforts of Dr. DR. Wilson when
he was Chair of the Department of Surgery (1972-82).
Prior to that, another previous Chair, William Gallie had
become friends with Sam and persuaded him to donate
funds to establish a traveling fellowship for surgeons
at the University of Toronto. Many surgeons from our
Faculty have taken full advantage of this opportunity.
As I was in the neighborhood of Parkwood on that
day, I decided to tour the facility. I was very fortunate
to receive a private tour of the entire estate with a tour
guide. What began thereafter was a personalized tour
that ushered me through all of the rooms that are open
to the public. I was immediately intrigued with RS
McLaughlin’s attention to detail and his clear appreciation
of the importance of technologies. The house itself
is replete with such examples of “high end” technologies
of the day, and many of these were among the first ever
in homes and buildings in Canada.
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The drawing room displays a marvelous hand painted
Steinway piano which all of Sam’s 5 daughters and his
wife, Adelaide, played. There is a striking cantilever hallway
entrance, which has a circular staircase that appears
to be floating in mid air. Many of the clocks in the estate
home were synchronized through battery control from
the basement, as Sam wished everyone to be punctual
and on time for all family events.
Other technologies in this magnificent estate home
include a movie theatre, where many feature films were
shown over the years, air conditioning units that were
installed here first in Canada, and a quadrophonic stereo
system where the speakers were hidden within the bookcases.
Other rooms of note include the billiard room, the
bowling alley, the squash court (Sam was an avid player),
and the indoor heated pool. At its peak, there were some
44 staff that were working at Parkwood and ensuring
that the interior and the exterior of the estate were properly
maintained. Over the years, many dignitaries visited
and stayed at Parkwood, including the Queen Mother
on several occasions.
The McLaughlin family initially made carriages and
wagons, but with the onset of the automotive industry,
they formed the “McLaughlin Motorcar Company” in
1908. Sam was President at that time, but it was clear
that they were unable to compete with other car companies.
Hence, McLaughlin Motor Company was sold, and
Sam joined forces with the General Motors Corporation. He became the President of General Motors Company of
Canada which was stationed in Oshawa near Parkwood.
He was President, from 1918-1945. Following this he
remained as Chairman of the Board of General Motors
Canada until 1972.
Other evidence of Sam’s philanthropy includes donations
to the Royal Ontario Museum and the building of
the McLaughlin Planetarium, contributions to Queens
University, Guelph University and York University, and
various colleges throughout the world. As hobbies, Sam
enjoyed cycling, yachting and equestrian show jumping
in addition to other sports.
It was clear to me that R.S. McLaughlin was an
incredible man with tremendous vision. He was the
leader of one of Canada’s most important companies
over 30 years. In 1967, Sam became a Companion of
the Order of Canada.
It is my great pleasure to review the history of the
McLaughlin Estate at Parkwood, and to know a little bit
more about the man who has helped the Department of
Surgery and many surgeons in so many ways over the
years.
James T. Rutka, RS McLaughlin Professor and Chair
Department of Surgery, University of Toronto
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