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Norman Bethune

Surgeon · 1890-1939

Invented the mobile blood transfusion unit in Spain and is better known in China than at home.

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Life story

1. March 4, 1890 · Gravenhurst, Ontario
   Born at Gravenhurst, Ontario
2. 1928 · Montreal
   Began thoracic surgery at Montreal after surviving tuberculosis himself
3. November 1936 · Spain
   Set up the first mobile blood transfusion service in the Spanish Civil War
4. 1938 · China
   Went to China and ran front-line surgery for the Eighth Route Army
5. November 12, 1939 · China
   Died of septicemia from a cut taken during an operation; Mao's essay on him is read by schoolchildren across China

Sources

• Wikipedia article: Norman Bethune
• Dictionary of Canadian Biography
• The Canadian Encyclopedia