Fonds RC0131 - Arthur N. Bourns fonds

Arthur N. Bourns was born on 8 December 1919 at Petitcodiac, New Brunswick, and educated at Acadia University and then McGill University, graduating in 1944 with a doctorate in chemistry. He joined the Department of Chemistry at McMaster University as an Assistant Professor in 1947, after teaching at Acadia University and the University of Saskatchewan. He had begun his career as a research chemist in 1944 at the Dominion Rubber Company. Dr. Bourns became a full Professor in 1953, and served as both a chairman and a dean before becoming Vice-President, Science and Engineering, in 1967. In 1972 he was appointed president of the university, a post he held until 1980. He had a distinguished academic career, becoming a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1964 and serving as a member of the National Research Council, 1969-1975. Dr. Bourns was awarded four honorary degrees. He married Marion Blakney in 1943 and the couple had four children.