Alexander Milton Ross

Alexander Milton Ross (December 13, 1832 – October 27, 1897) was a Canadian botanist, naturalist, physician, abolitionist and anti-vaccination activist. He is best known as an agent for the secret Underground Railroad slave escape network, known in that organization and among slaves as "The Birdman" for his preferred cover story as an ornithologist.

Biography

Milton was born in Belleville, Ontario. He began his study of medicine in 1861 under the direction of Valentine Mott and subsequently under Russell Thacher Trall, the noted hygienic physician. Milton obtained his M.D. in 1855 and M.A. in 1867. He was appointed surgeon in the army of Nicaragua that was commanded by General William Walker. Ross authored anti-vaccination pamphlets that were widely circulated during the smallpox epidemic of 1885 in Montreal.

In 1885 during the epidemic, Ross left Montreal and his train entered Ontario. It was reported that he had been vaccinated as quarantine inspectors approached him and found a vaccination puncture mark on his arm not over a year old. Ross was criticized by major newspapers for this dilemma, although Ross denied being vaccinated. A 1885 report by the State Board of Health of the State of Kansas suggested that Ross was only an anti-vaccinationist in theory, not in practice, as he had been vaccinated and his children were also.

Books

Birds of Canada (1872) Butterflies and Moths of Canada (1873) Flora of Canada (1873) Forest Trees of Canada (1874) Ferns and Wild Flowers of Canada (1877) Mammals, Reptiles, and Fresh-water Fish of Canada (1878) The Fight Against Compulsory Vaccination (1883) Stop!!: A Pitiable Sight!: People Driven Like Dumb Animals to the Shambles!!: Tyranny of Doctorcraft!!! (1885) The Anti-Vaccinator, and Advocate of Cleanliness (1885) Vaccination a Medical Delusion (1885) Medical Practice of the Great Future

In popular culture Ross appears as a character in the 1977 children's novel Underground to Canada which depicts four young slaves who, with Ross's help, escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad.