Clement Ligoure
Clement Ligoure | |
---|---|
![]() Ligoure in 1913 | |
Born | San Fernando, Trinidad, British West Indies | 13 October 1887
Died | 23 May 1922 Port of Spain, Colony of Trinidad and Tobago, British West Indies | (aged 34)
Education | Queen's University |
Occupation | Doctor of Medicine |
Spouse | Vivian E. Haynes |
Parent(s) | Clement François and Amanda M. (Crooke) Ligoure |
Clement Courtenay Ligoure (13 October 1887 – 23 May 1922)[1] was a Trinidadian doctor and newspaper publisher who was the first Black physician to practise in Nova Scotia, Canada.[2] He is also noted for treating hundreds of victims of the Halifax Explosion from his home clinic as well as being an editor and publisher of The Atlantic Advocate newspaper.[3]
Early life and education
Born in San Fernando,[4] Trinidad and Tobago, he was the son of Clement François and Amanda M. (née) Crooke. His father worked for the Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago.[5]
In April 1904, Ligoure moved to the United States; he was 19.[5]
In 1906, he started studies at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada.[6] At the university, he earned a Bachelor of Medicine Degree in 1914 and a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1916.[5]
Career
Military and early medical work
With World War I underway, Ligoure enlisted in the Canadian military and ended up travelling to Halifax, Nova Scotia—arriving in 1916,[7] two months after getting his final degree[6]—to be a medical officer in the No. 2 Construction Battalion.[5] It was an all-Black battalion he co-founded.[8] However, an "error" in the application resulted in him being replaced by a White physician, "likely due to the British War Office ergo the Canadian Department of Militias and Defence refusing to see past the colour bar."[5] He still assisted by raising money[5] and spent seven months recruiting[9] for the battalion.
Despite being a licensed physician, Ligoure was not allowed to use hospitals in Halifax.[3] Still, he served as medical officer for Canadian National Railway workers.[5] His fifteen-person clinic[5] was located in his house and named the Amanda Private Hospital for his mother.[3]
Halifax Explosion
After the Halifax Explosion on 6 December 1917, Ligoure worked long hours to treat blast victims.[7] Some of the patients that filled his clinic had been unable to get medical help elsewhere.[6] In a statement to Dr. Archibald MacMechan, Ligoure conveyed that he worked day and night:
In spite of the warning of a second explosion, he worked steadily till 8 p.m. [...] Seven people spent the night in his office, laid upon blankets. On December 7th, 8th and 9th, he worked steadily both night and day, doing outside work at night.[10]
At first his only support was from his housekeeper and his boarder.[5] On 10 December, Ligoure requested assistance from City Hall and received two nurses to come with him to establish an "official dressing station" for changing and applying bandages.[6] Eventually, he was leading ten nurses, six other women and four soldiers (one of whom was a physician).[6]
His work continued to 28 December, with records indicating nearly 200 patients were helped each day.[11] His patients were almost all White.[6] According to archival records, patients were not charged.[3] This work has led him to be recognized as a "local hero"[2] and "unsung hero".[12]
The Atlantic Advocate newspaper
Ligoure served as the editor and publisher of The Atlantic Advocate.[11] Publication took place in the home he had purchased in 1917 at 166 North Street.[5] It was the first newspaper in Nova Scotia owned and published by Black Canadians.[13] The newspaper ran from 1915 to 1917 and its masthead read: "Devoted to the interests of colored people."[14]
Death and legacy
During a visit with his brother Clarence in Tobago, Ligoure contracted malignant malaria. He was transported to the Colonial Hospital in Port of Spain, Trinidad, where he died on 23 May 1922.[5]
David Woods' play Extraordinary Acts, in part, dramatized Ligoure's role in the Halifax Explosion. It was scheduled to be staged in 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
An inaugural "Dr. Clement Ligoure Award" was given in 2021 by the Doctors Nova Scotia organization to Nova Scotia's Chief Medical Officer of Health.[11] It is a non-annual prize given to a physician for handling a medical crisis in Nova Scotia.[15]
In Halifax, the former house of Ligoure (of which only a part still stands[5]) was given heritage status on 24 January 2023. The decision by Halifax's regional council followed lobbying efforts by notable Black community members.[3] The house is listed at 5812-14 North Street,[5] and was built in 1892.[3]
References
- ^ [Philip] Hartling, 1-4: PANS RG83, v3, n12, 16 Liguore, Clement C., Nova Scotia Archives, birth date in Dr. Ligoure's own handwriting on medical board application.
- ^ a b Heritage, Canadian. "Statement by Minister Hussen on Black History Month". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "Former home of Nova Scotia's first Black doctor granted heritage status | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ Hastings, Paula (16 September 2022). Dominion over Palm and Pine: A History of Canadian Aspirations in the British Caribbean. ISBN 9780228012863. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Zemel, Joel (20 February 2023). "Dr. Clement Ligoure: A Humanitarian Approach To Medical Care". CityNews Halifax. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Remes, Jacob A. C. (2018). "What We Talk About When We Talk About Africville". African American Review. 51 (3): 226. doi:10.1353/afa.2018.0034. JSTOR 26795151. S2CID 165946312 – via JSTOR.
- ^ a b c Smith, Emma (6 December 2020). "Nova Scotia's first Black doctor treated hundreds of patients after Halifax Explosion". CBC. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ "Community rallies behind bid to preserve home of Nova Scotia's first Black doctor". CP24. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ Tennyson, Brian Douglas (21 November 2017). Nova Scotia at War, 1914–1919 (in Arabic). Nimbus+ORM. ISBN 978-1-77108-524-3.
- ^ MacMechan, Archibald (25 January 1918). "Personal Narrative by Dr. C. C. Ligoure to Archibald MacMechan". Nova Scotia Archives.
- ^ a b c Production, Lookout (11 February 2023). "Dr. Clement Ligoure, Nova Scotia's first Black doctor". Pacific Navy News. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ "Former home of Nova Scotia's first Black doctor granted heritage status". CBC. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ "Carrie Best | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ Deveau, Leo J. (13 October 2017). 400 Years in 365 Days: A Day by Day Calendar of Nova Scotia History. Formac Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-4595-0480-6.
- ^ "Award categories". Doctors Nova Scotia. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
External links
- Personal account of the aftermath of Halifax Explosion by Clement Ligoure from Nova Scotia Archives
- Heritage Designation Application for 5812-14/ 166 North St, Halifax from Friends of the Halifax Common
- Digitized issues and overview of The Atlantic Advocate from Nova Scotia Archives
- 1886 births
- 1922 deaths
- Queen's University at Kingston alumni
- Canadian newspaper editors
- Canadian newspaper publishers (people)
- Trinidad and Tobago physicians
- 20th-century Canadian physicians
- Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to Canada
- People from San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
- People from Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Canadian general practitioners
- Physicians from Nova Scotia
- Black Nova Scotians