About Mervyn Huston
Lived 1912 – 2001 (aged 88–89). Mervyn Huston was a pharmacologist.
Mervyn J. Huston (1912 – March 7, 2001) was a Canadian pharmacologist and humorist. A longtime professor and academic dean at the University of Alberta's school of pharmacy, he was best known for his humor novel Gophers Don't Pay Taxes, which won the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour in 1982.
Originally from Ashcroft, British Columbia, Huston worked in his father's pharmacy as a teenager before studying pharmacology at the University of Alberta and the University of Washington. He became director of the pharmacy program at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine in 1946, and dean of the expanded Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1955. He held the latter role until his retirement in 1978, and served as an associate editor of the Canadian Pharmacists Journal.
His other humor works included Canada Eh to Zed, Great Golf Humour, Toast to the Bride, Prescription for Humour, Golf and Murphy's Law and The Great Canadian Lover. He was also a musician, playing saxophone in a jazz music band in his youth and later playing bassoon with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
He died in 2001.
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Important facts
People in Mervyn Huston's life
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Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Mervyn Huston?
Canadian pharmacologist and humorist
When was Mervyn Huston born?
Mervyn Huston was born in 1912.
When did Mervyn Huston die?
Mervyn Huston died on 7 March 2001.
What was Mervyn Huston's occupation?
Mervyn Huston was a pharmacologist.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Mervyn Huston. https://biography.guide/mervyn-huston/
MLA: "Mervyn Huston." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/mervyn-huston/.
Chicago: "Mervyn Huston." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/mervyn-huston/.
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