Henry Norman Bethune was a Canadian thoracic surgeon, early advocate of socialized medicine, and member of the Communist Party of Canada. A veteran of the First World War, he held militarism and capitalism to be inextricably linked.[1]
Bethune came to international prominence first for his service as a frontline trauma surgeon supporting the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War, and later supporting the Communist Party of China's (CPC) Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Bethune helped bring modern medicine to rural China, treating both sick villagers and wounded soldiers.
Bethune was responsible for developing a mobile blood-transfusion service for frontline operations in the Spanish Civil War. Ironically, he died of blood poisoning after accidentally cutting his finger while operating on wounded Chinese soldiers.[2]
Bethune's service to the CPC earned him the respect of Mao Zedong, who wrote a eulogy dedicated to Bethune when he died in 1939. His name is honored in the People's Republic of China to this day.