We can say with pride that we ... have labored well for the better care and treatment of the mentally ill, for the better understanding of the causes of mental illnesses...
Dr. Stevenson was born in Toronto, Canada. Between the ages of 7 and 12, he lived with his family in Philadelphia, where he received his early education, as well as in Hamilton, Ontario, when his family returned to Canada. In 1912, he entered medical school, but in 1915, he enlisted in the Canadian Army, serving in Europe. He returned to medical school after the war and received his M.D. from the University of Toronto in 1918. After graduation, he served on the staff of a military hospital, and in May 1919, he entered psychiatric duties at the Ontario Hospital in Toronto (1919–2021). He became Assistant Superintendent at the Ontario Hospital, remaining there for seven years (1920–27).
In 1927, Dr. Stevenson received a Rockefeller Fellowship for study in Boston and Baltimore, and on his return to Canada, he assumed the position of superintendent at the new mental hospital in Whitby, where he remained for seven years. In 1934, he became Superintendent of the London (Ontario) Hospital and was also appointed Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Western Ontario. In 1953, he became Director of Drug Addiction Research in Vancouver, B.C., and later Chairman of the Bureau of Community Service in the Division of Mental Health in Hawaii (1959–63).
Dr. Stevenson held several professional appointments at the University of Western Ontario. He developed the first graduate psychiatric nursing course in Canada and served as president of the Ontario Medical Society. Dr. Stevenson contributed to psychiatric literature by publishing Personality and its Deviations (2nd Ed. 1940), along with many articles on psychiatric subjects.
Dr. Stevenson was President of the Canadian Psychiatric Association and served as President of the American Psychiatric Association (1940–41).