Earle Willard McHenry

Earle Willard McHenry, "Mac," professor, scientist, author (b at Streetsville, Ont 25 Jan 1899; d at Toronto 20 Dec 1961). McHenry's initial discipline was chemistry; however, an interest in nutrition emerged when he was appointed lecturer in the department of physiological hygiene at the University of Toronto. Ultimately a separate department of public-health nutrition was established in 1946 with McHenry as professor and head (1946-61).

His interest in nutrition encompassed both basic research and the nutritional health of the general public. He was the first president of the Nutrition Society of Canada (est 1957), and was an outspoken, articulate contributor to several governmental committees on nutrition education and policy in North America. McHenry wrote 2 books, Basic Nutrition and Foods without Fads, which expressed his commonsense philosophy towards nutrition and his impatience with unscientific thinking. At his death he was coediting the 3-volume Nutrition: A Comprehensive Treatise.