Physician.
Born at Hartney on 13 July 1891, one of three children of John Aikenhead (1857-1926) and Mary Margaret Blair (?-1950), he attended Hartney School and Melita School then enrolled in the Manitoba Medical College in 1912. As a fourth-year medical student, in early 1915 he enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force and served in England and France with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. In 1916, he was sent back to Winnipeg to complete his medical education then, after graduation in 1917, he returned to France.
After his military discharge in 1919, he established a medical practice at Sinclair then, in 1920, he joined the Department of Anaesthesia at the Winnipeg General Hospital. In 1935, he became Head of the Department of Anaesthesia, succeeding William Webster, and Assistant Professor of Surgery (Anaesthesia) at the University of Manitoba. He organized meetings that resulted in the establishment of the Winnipeg Anaesthetists Society and he served as President of the Manitoba Medical Association (1943-1944). He retired in 1953 and moved to Burlington, Ontario but, two years later, was persuaded to resume his anaesthetic work there, continuing until 1969.
On 18 June 1919, he married Mildred Helen Kelly (1891-1979) at Sarnia, Ontario and they had two children: Helen Lawrence Aikenhead (1923-2009, wife of K. Buckley) and David E. Aikenhead. He was a member of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs, Canadian Club of Winnipeg, and Knox United Church. He had a summer cottage on Falcon Lake. After his moved to Ontario, he became active in gardening.
He moved to London, Ontario in 1971 and died there on 27 January 1973. He was buried there.
Birth registration [David Campbell Aikenhead], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Attestation papers, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Library and Archives Canada.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 29 January 1973, page 25.
Obituary, Canadian Anaesthetists' Society Journal, Volume 20, pages 414-417, 1 May 1973.
Obituary [Mildred H. Aikenhead], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 July 1979, page 29.
“History of Canadian anaesthesia: David Campbell Aikenhead (1891-1973),” Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia, Volume 41, Number 6, 1994, page 547.
Dr. David Campbell Aikenhead, FindAGrave.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 8 February 2025
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