2010 Commencement – Honorary Degree Recipient
(Reprinted from the 2010 Commencement Booklet)
Michael Bliss, Ph.D., held the elite title of University Professor when he retired in 2006 after 38 years at the University of Toronto. Formally University Professor Emeritus, he continues to write and lecture to audiences throughout North America and Europe.
He specializes in the history of medicine and the history of Canada. His 12 books (including A Canadian Millionaire, The Discovery of Insulin, Banting, Northern Enterprise, Plague, Right Honourable Men, William Osler, A Life in Medicine, and Harvey Cushing: A Life in Surgery) have received numerous honors, including all the major prizes awarded by the Canadian Historical Association, two City of Toronto Book Awards, three Jason Hannah Medals for medical history from the Royal Society of Canada, the Welch Medal of the American Association for the History of Medicine, and the National Business Book Award.
Dr. Bliss was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1999 and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1984. The Royal Society awarded him its Tyrrell Medal for outstanding work in the history of Canada.
Dr. Bliss has been awarded honorary degrees from McGill University, McMaster University and the University of British Columbia, and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. In June 2009, he received a Doctor of Letters, Honoris Causa, from the University of Toronto.