Dr. Douglas Salmon

Pioneering physician and scholar the late Douglas Salmon was the first Black surgeon in Canada. The orphaned son of Jamaican immigrants, his resourcefulness and self-reliance drove him to fulfil his childhood dream of becoming a doctor. His medical career was spent at Centenary Hospital in Scarborough where he was elevated to chief of general surgery, the first Black person in Canada to hold such a position. Also an accomplished pianist, upon being denied entry to performance halls, he led successful protests against racial discrimination.