Memorable Manitobans: Robert Rennie Swan (1876-1952)

Physician and surgeon.

Born at Greenock, Scotland on 3 December 1876, son of Robert and Marion Swan, he was educated at Greenock and Glasgow University. After graduating in 1901, he spent a year studying in Switzerland and France. He visited India then practised in Liverpool for three years. He came to Winnipeg and established a medical practice, serving on the staff of the Winnipeg General Hospital, specializing in diseases of the chest. He was a member of the Canadian and Manitoba Medical Associations.

On 6 June 1911, he was married to Ethel Sinclair Strang (1884-1979, daughter of Andrew Strang) and they had three sons: Robert Stephen Swan (1912-1971), John Andrew Campbell “Jack” Swan (1914-1991), and David Rennie Swan (1925-2012). The family lived at 891 Grosvenor Avenue, Winnipeg. He served as President of the St. Andrew’s Society (1913-1915), President of the Winnipeg Golf Club, and was a member of the Canadian Club, Garry, St. Andrews Club, and Medico Chirurigical Society. His recreations included golf and lawn bowling.

He died at Winnipeg on 30 June 1952 and was buried in the St. John’s Cathedral Cemetery.

Sources:

Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Who’s Who in Western Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of Western Canada, Volume 1, edited by C. W. Parker, Vancouver: Canadian Press Association, 1911.

1921 Canada census, Ancestry.

Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.

“Dr. Swan dies here,” Winnipeg Tribune, 1 July 1952. [Manitoba Legislative Library, Biographical Scrapbook B10]

Obituary [Robert Stephen Swan], Winnipeg Free Press, 20 December 1971, page 26.

Obituary [Ethel Sinclair Swan], Winnipeg Free Press, 4 January 1980, page 39.

Obituary [John Andrew Campbell Swan], Winnipeg Free Press, 9 April 1991, page 33.

Obituary [David Rennie Swan], Winnipeg Free Press, 1 June 2013.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 14 June 2021

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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