Clement Ligoure
Ligoure in 1913
Born(1887-10-13)13 October 1887
San Fernando, Trinidad, British West Indies
Died23 May 1922(1922-05-23) (aged 34)
Port of Spain, Colony of Trinidad and Tobago, British West Indies
EducationQueen's University
OccupationDoctor of Medicine
SpouseVivian E. Haynes

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 of 1906 at age 18, Clement Ligoure immigrated to the United States.[6] That same year, he started studies at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada.[7] 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,[8] two months after getting his final degree[7]—to be a medical officer in the No. 2 Construction Battalion,[5] made up of Black recruits. 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.[8] Some of the patients that filled his clinic had been unable to get medical help elsewhere.[7] 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.[7] Eventually, he was leading ten nurses, six other women and four soldiers (one of whom was a physician).[7]

His work continued to 28 December, with records indicating nearly 200 patients were helped each day.[11] His patients were almost all White.[7] 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.[8]

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

  1. ↑ [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.
  2. 1 2 Heritage, Canadian. "Statement by Minister Hussen on Black History Month". newswire.ca. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Former home of Nova Scotia's first Black doctor granted heritage status". Global News. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Zemel, Joel (20 February 2023). "Dr. Clement Ligoure: A Humanitarian Approach To Medical Care". CityNews Halifax. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  6. ↑ Zemel, Joel (14 December 2023). "New York, County Naturalization Records, 1791-1980". Retrieved 14 December 2023 – via FamilySearch.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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.
  8. 1 2 3 Smith, Emma (6 December 2020). "Nova Scotia's first Black doctor treated hundreds of patients after Halifax Explosion". CBC. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  9. ↑ Tennyson, Brian Douglas (21 November 2017). Nova Scotia at War, 1914–1919 (in Arabic). Nimbus+ORM. ISBN 978-1-77108-524-3.
  10. ↑ MacMechan, Archibald (25 January 1918). "Personal Narrative by Dr. C. C. Ligoure to Archibald MacMechan". Nova Scotia Archives.
  11. 1 2 3 Production, Lookout (11 February 2023). "Dr. Clement Ligoure, Nova Scotia's first Black doctor". Pacific Navy News. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  12. ↑ "Former home of Nova Scotia's first Black doctor granted heritage status". CBC. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  13. ↑ "Carrie Best". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ "Award categories". Doctors Nova Scotia. Retrieved 25 February 2023.


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