Bruce Chown, was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 scientist who researched the blood factor known as the Rhesus factor and helped produced a Rh immune vaccine

Vaccine

A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...

, Rh gamma globulin

Gamma globulin

Gamma globulins are a class of globulins, identified by their position after serum protein electrophoresis. The most significant gamma globulins are immunoglobulins , more commonly known as antibodies, although some Igs are not gamma globulins, and some gamma globulins are not Igs.-Use as medical...

, which helps to prevent Erythroblastosis fetalis.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the son of Henry Havelock and Katherine (Farrel) Chown, he received a B.A. from McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 in 1914. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he served in the Canadian Field Artillery and received the Military Cross

Military Cross

The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....

. After the war, he received his medical degree from the University of Manitoba

University of Manitoba

The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...

 in 1922. He completed his postgraduate work in pediatrics at Babies' Hospital, Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 (1922–1923); Harriet Lane Home, Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

; and Nursery and Child's Hospital, Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 (1925–1926) becoming one of only a few trained pediatricians in Canada and the only one in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

.

From 1926 to 1977, he was on the staff of the University of Manitoba. From 1944 to 1977, he was the Director of the Rh Laboratory in Winnipeg.

In 1967, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

. In 1968, he received the Gairdner Foundation International Award

Gairdner Foundation International Award

The Gairdner Foundation International Award is given annually at a special dinner to three to six people for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a precursor to winning the Nobel Prize in Medicine; as of 2007, 69 Nobel...

. In 1970, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

Royal Society of Canada

The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...

. In 1995, he was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is a Canadian charitable organization, founded in 1994, that honours Canadians who have contributed to the understanding of disease and improving the health of people. It has a museum in London, Ontario, and has an annual induction ceremony.-2012:*Terry Fox*John...

.

In 1922, he married Gladys Webb. They had four children. After Gladys died in 1948, he married Allison Grant in 1949. They had one son.