Allan Marble

Allan Marble ONS
Born	Allan Everett Marble 1939 (age 85–86) Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
Occupations	Biomedical engineer genealogist medical historian
Notable work	Surgeons, Smallpox, and the Poor (1993)

Allan Everett Marble ONS (born 1939) is a Canadian biomedical engineer, genealogist and medical historian from Nova Scotia. Marble taught a variety of subjects in Nova Scotian universities for over 40 years, and is professor emeritus at Dalhousie University. He was awarded the Order of Nova Scotia in 2024.

Biography

Allan Everett Marble was born in 1939 in Truro, Nova Scotia. ^[1] He attended Colchester County Academy and Dartmouth High School, following which he earned a doctorate at Dalhousie University. He joined the Royal Canadian Army in 1963, serving as a Lieutenant until 1966. ^[1]

Marble taught in Nova Scotian universities for over 40 years, beginning in 1967. He taught physics, mathematics, surgery, and biomedical engineering. ^[1] As an associate professor at Dalhousie University's Department of Surgery, Marble's medical research focused on the cardiovascular system. He was the director of research there from 1988 to 1996, with his research contributing to improved vascular grafting outcomes in advanced cardiovascular surgery. During his time at Dalhousie, he helped to establish their School of Biomedical Engineering. ^[2] He was named professor emeritus of Dalhousie University in 2000, ^[3] and retired from teaching in 2010. ^[2]

Marble is a certified genealogist. He was a founding member of the Genealogical Institute of the Maritimes in 1982, and was president of the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia twice: first in the 1990s, and again from 2010 to 2015. He has served on the executive boards of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society and the Dalhousie Society for the History of Medicine; from 2016 to 2017, he was chair of the Medical History Society of Nova Scotia. ^[1]

In 2024, Marble was appointed to the Order of Nova Scotia in recognition of his contributions to Nova Scotian heritage and biomedical engineering. ^[4]

Publications

Books

• Marble, Allan Everett (1986). Nova Scotians at Home and Abroad: Biographical Sketches of Over Six Hundred Native Born Nova Scotians . Hantsport, N.S.: Lancelot Press. ISBN   978-0-8899-9074-6. OCLC   28512566.
• — (1993). Surgeons, Smallpox, and the Poor: A History of Medicine and Social Conditions in Nova Scotia, 1749–1799. Montreal: McGill–Queen's University Press. ISBN   978-0-7735-0988-7. OCLC   28216061. ^[5]
• — (2006). Physicians, Pestilence, and the Poor: A History of Medicine and Social Conditions in Nova Scotia, 1800–1867. Victoria, B.C.: Trafford Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4120-7912-9. OCLC   71002468.
• — (2007). The House that Sexton Built: A Century of Outstanding Graduates. Tantallon, N.S.: Glen Margaret Publishing. ISBN   978-1-8974-6204-1. OCLC   174138517. ^[6]
• — (2020). Nova Scotia and the Great Influenza Pandemic, 1918–1920: A Remembrance of the Dead and an Archive for the Living. Halifax, N.S.: Nimbus Publishing. ISBN   978-1-7710-8915-9. OCLC   1159898374.
• — (2022). The History of Medicine in Nova Scotia from Confederation to Medicare. Halifax, N.S.: [s.n.] ISBN   978-0-9809-4181-4. OCLC   1303877298. ^[7]

Genealogical works

• — (1966). The History and Genealogy of the Hingley Family. Halifax, N.S.: [s.n.] OCLC   789648750.
• — (1979). A Catalogue of Published Genealogies of Nova Scotia Families. Halifax, N.S.: Nova Scotia Historical Society. OCLC   5746251.
• — (1984). A Catalogue of Published Genealogies of Nova Scotia Families (2nd ed.). Halifax, N.S.: Genealogical Association of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society. OCLC   12017339.
• — (1986). The Descendants of James McCabe and Ann Pettigrew . Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society. ISBN   978-0-8808-2015-8. OCLC   12945145.
• — (1990). Deaths, Burials, and Probate of Nova Scotians, 1749–1799: From Primary Sources. Halifax, N.S.: Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia. OCLC   25509920.
• — (1992). Genealogical research in Nova Scotia, 1951–1987. Halifax, N.S.: Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia. OCLC   71768433.
• — (1999). Deaths, Burials, and Probate of Nova Scotians, 1800–1850: From Primary Sources. Halifax, N.S.: Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia. ISBN   978-1-8959-8219-0. OCLC   43906833.
• — (2008). The Archibald Family of Nova Scotia: No Reward Without Effort. Halifax, N.S.: [s.n.] ISBN   978-0-9809-4180-7. OCLC   1156975466.

References

Citations

1. MemoryNS (2019).
2. Rogers (2025).
3. RNSHS.
4. Government of Nova Scotia (2024); Rogers (2025).
5. Gwyn (1995); Roland (1995); Crellin (1996); Comacchio (1997).
6. Nicoll (2007).
7. Twohig (2022).

Sources

• Comacchio, Cynthia R. (1997). "Surgeons, Smallpox, and the Poor: A History of Medicine and Social Conditions in Nova Scotia, 1749-1799" (Book review). Canadian Book Review Annual Online. University of Toronto Libraries . Retrieved 13 September 2025.
• Crellin, J. K. (September 1996). "Surgeons, Smallpox, and the Poor: A History of Medicine and Social Conditions in Nova Scotia, 1749–1799 by Allan Everett Marble" (Book review). The Canadian Historical Review . 77 (3). University of Toronto Press: 442–444. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
• [Government of Nova Scotia] (23 December 2024). "2024 Order of Nova Scotia Recipients Announced" (News release). news.novascotia.ca. Government of Nova Scotia . Retrieved 12 September 2025.
• Gwyn, Julian (1995). "Allan Everett Marble - Surgeons, Smallpox and the Poor: A History of Medicine and Social Conditions in Nova Scotia, 1749-1799" (Book review). Histoire sociale/Social history. 28 (56): 575–577. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
• [MemoryNS] (30 June 2019). "Marble, Allan E." MemoryNS. Halifax: Council of Nova Scotia Archives. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
• Nicoll, Cathy (26 September 2007). "Mining the past: Book highlights the founding of engineering in Halifax". Dal News. Halifax, N.S.: Dalhousie University . Retrieved 13 September 2025.
• [RNSHS]. "Allan Marble". Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society . Retrieved 13 September 2025.
• Rogers, Kate (26 February 2025). "Dr. Allan Marble appointed to the Order of Nova Scotia". Faculty of Medicine. Halifax: Dalhousie University . Retrieved 12 September 2025.
• Roland, Charles G. (1995). "Allan Everett Marble, Surgeons, smallpox, and the poor: a history of medicine and social conditions in Nova Scotia, 1749–1799". Medical History . 39 (3). Cambridge University Press: 384–385. doi:10.1017/S0025727300060221.
• Twohig, Peter L. (2022). "Allan Everett Marble, The History of Medicine in Nova Scotia from Confederation to Medicare". Journal of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society. 25. Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society: 1–107. doi:10.7202/1106056ar.