VIII THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



He was in his eighty-fifth year and although practically confined 

 to his house for six years before his death, he was up to within a few 

 weeks of the end intellectually active and keenly interested in the 

 progress of science. He was quite blind for his last five years of life, 

 but with the assistance of his devoted wife and daughter he collected 

 evidence regarding the toxic effect of carbonic oxide in coal gas from 

 over one hundred sources in England, United States and Canada. 

 The result of this extensive investigation was reported to this Society 

 in 1916 and 1917. 



Born in London in 1832, he received his early education at a 

 private school and subsequently entered University College and St. 

 George's School of Medicine. He was admitted a member of the 

 Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1854, and for a short time 

 served as house surgeon in the Liverpool Infirmary. In the same year 

 he was gazetted assistant surgeon of Her Majesty's Grenadier Guards. 



Dr. Girdwood accompanied the 1st battalion of the Grenadier 

 Guards to Canada at the time of the famous Trent affair in 1862, and 

 on its return to England in 1864 retired from the army and entered 

 upon the practice of medicine in Montreal. In 1865 he took the 

 degree of M.D., CM., at McGill University. He was for some years 

 surgeon of the Third Victoria Rifles, and served with that regiment 

 at the front during the Fenian Raids, later receiving the medal. Not 

 long after he was promoted to be a medical staff officer of the Militia 

 of Canada. 



For twelve years he was surgeon to the Montreal Dispensary 

 and to the Montreal General Hospital, and following this service was 

 appointed consulting surgeon to both institutions. He also became 

 consulting surgeon to the Children's Memorial Hospital and Con- 

 sultant in the X-ray Department of the Royal Victoria Hospital. 



He was appointed surgeon to the Canadian Pacific Railroad 

 during its construction and had charge of the Eastern Division. He 

 afterwards became Chief Medical Officer of that railroad. 



Dr. Girdwood was a former' president of the Roentgen Society 

 of America; vice-president of the Canadian Branch of the Society of 

 Chemical Industry; a Fellow of the Chemical Society and also of the 

 Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain. 



He was a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of 

 the Provinces of Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. He also was 

 an active member of both the British and the American Associations 

 for the Advancement of Science, of the Montreal Natural History 

 Society, and of the Montreal Microscopical Society; of the last he 

 was elected President in 1892. 



