Article

John Gunion Rutherford

Published Online March 24, 2008

Last Edited December 15, 2013

John Gunion Rutherford, veterinarian, administrator (b at Mountain Cross, Scot 25 Dec 1857; d at Ottawa 24 July 1923). A graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College 1879, he practised in Woodstock, Ont, and in the US and Mexico, and settled in Portage la Prairie, Man, 1884.

Rutherford, John Gunion

John Gunion Rutherford, veterinarian, administrator (b at Mountain Cross, Scot 25 Dec 1857; d at Ottawa 24 July 1923). A graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College 1879, he practised in Woodstock, Ont, and in the US and Mexico, and settled in Portage la Prairie, Man, 1884. He became veterinary inspector of Manitoba in 1887 and was an MLA 1892-96 and MP 1897-1900. He was appointed chief inspector of Canada (later veterinary director general) 1902 and Dominion livestock commissioner 1906.

Rutherford's greatest contribution was in upgrading the veterinary profession and its associations. He was president of the American Veterinary Medical Association 1908-09 and was instrumental in raising the standards of education at OVC and having it taken over by the University of Toronto and the Ontario government.