Biography.guide
Home › People › Pharmacologist › Mervyn Huston
Portrait of Mervyn Huston

Mervyn Huston

1912 – 2001

Canadian pharmacologist and humorist

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

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.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Born
1912
Birth century
Occupation
Education
University of Alberta
Employers
University of Alberta

People in Mervyn Huston's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Mervyn Huston's

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

· Wikipedia: Mervyn Huston

· Wikidata: Q47545371

· DBpedia: Mervyn Huston

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/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:01 UTC