Dr. John MacEachran is appointed Head of the Alberta Eugenics Board

Dr. John MacEachran is appointed Head of the Alberta Eugenics Board

March 21, 1928. Dr. John M. MacEachran, who held a Ph.D in Philosophy from Queen’s University and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Leipzig, becomes head of the Alberta Eugenics Board.

MacEachran joined the University of Alberta in 1909 as professor and head of the University of Alberta's Department of Psychology and Philosophy. As part of his involvement in Alberta’s mental health community, he was appointed as the chairman to the Alberta Eugenics Board (AEB) in 1928. The Alberta Eugenics Board was formed under the Sexual Sterilization Act of Alberta, which passed into law in 1928. Its purpose was to administer the provinces’ sexual sterilization program and determine whether individuals should be sterilized on a case-by-case basis.

Dr. MacEchran was head of the AEB continuously from its formation to his resignation in 1965, a total of 37 years. Dr. R. K. Thompson (a medical doctor) then chaired the Board until it was disbanded in 1972. MacEachran was the longest serving member of the board. He was joined at its inception by Dr. E. Pope (Edmonton), Dr. E. G. Mason (Calgary) and a secretary, Mrs. Jean H. Field. From its first meeting in January 1929 to its final meeting in 1972, the AEB considered 4785 cases, the majority of which were approved, resulting in 2832 sterilizations.

-Sheila Gibbons

  • Grekul, J., Krahn, H., & Odynak, D. (2004). Sterilizing the “Feeble-Minded”: Eugenics in Alberta, 1929-1972. Journal of Historical Sociology, 17, 358-384.

Dr. John MacEachran is appointed Head of the Alberta Eugenics Board

Dr. John MacEachran is appointed Head of the Alberta Eugenics Board

March 21, 1928. Dr. John M. MacEachran, who held a Ph.D in Philosophy from Queen’s University and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Leipzig, becomes head of the Alberta Eugenics Board.

MacEachran joined the University of Alberta in 1909 as professor and head of the University of Alberta's Department of Psychology and Philosophy. As part of his involvement in Alberta’s mental health community, he was appointed as the chairman to the Alberta Eugenics Board (AEB) in 1928. The Alberta Eugenics Board was formed under the Sexual Sterilization Act of Alberta, which passed into law in 1928. Its purpose was to administer the provinces’ sexual sterilization program and determine whether individuals should be sterilized on a case-by-case basis.

Dr. MacEchran was head of the AEB continuously from its formation to his resignation in 1965, a total of 37 years. Dr. R. K. Thompson (a medical doctor) then chaired the Board until it was disbanded in 1972. MacEachran was the longest serving member of the board. He was joined at its inception by Dr. E. Pope (Edmonton), Dr. E. G. Mason (Calgary) and a secretary, Mrs. Jean H. Field. From its first meeting in January 1929 to its final meeting in 1972, the AEB considered 4785 cases, the majority of which were approved, resulting in 2832 sterilizations.

-Sheila Gibbons

  • Grekul, J., Krahn, H., & Odynak, D. (2004). Sterilizing the “Feeble-Minded”: Eugenics in Alberta, 1929-1972. Journal of Historical Sociology, 17, 358-384.