Dafoe, Allan Roy

Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe (29 May 1883 – 2 June 1943) was a Canadian obstetrician, best known for delivering and caring for the Dionne quintuplets, the first quintuplets known to survive early infancy. Before modern fertility treatments, multiple births were a rare event and, when they did occur, the babies were not likely to survive. The 1934 birth of the Dionne Quintuplets in isolated Callander, Ontario (near North Bay), was regarded as a medical miracle and the country doctor who ensured their survival became an international celebrity. This collection consists of a small group of photographs of Dr. Dafoe basking in the fame which the births brought him. The images show Dafoe being honoured at various events in Washington (a meeting with President Roosevelt), New York City and Atlantic City between 1934 and 1941. There are no photographs of the famous quints.

2015-06-23

A. Wilson