Frances Gertrude McGill

Frances Gertrude McGill was born on November 18, 1877 in Minnedosa, Manitoba, Canada, to American parents who were missionaries. She attended the Normal School in Winnipeg and taught at a rural school. She then studied medicine at the University of Manitoba and graduated in 1915. She interned at the Winnipeg General Hospital and then undertook postgraduate studies in bacteriology at the Provincial Laboratory. She moved to Saskatchewan in 1918 and became the provincial bacteriologist and then the provincial pathologist. She worked extensively with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and local police forces for more than thirty years, and was instrumental in establishing the first RCMP forensic laboratory. She directed the RCMP laboratory for three years, and trained new RCMP recruits in forensic detection methods. She also operated a private medical practice for the diagnosis and treatment of allergies. She retired in 1946 and was appointed Honorary Surgeon for the RCMP by the Canadian Minister of Justice, becoming one of the first official female members of the force. She continued to act as a consultant to the RCMP until her death in 1959. She received many awards and honours for her work, including the Order of Canada, the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame, and the honorary membership of the Canadian Public Health Association. She is remembered as one of the founders of the field of forensic pathology in Canada and a pioneer of public health in Saskatchewan.