Thomas George Roddick was born in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, and obtained his M.D.,C.M. from McGill in 1868. In the same year he entered the militia; eventually he would be placed in charge of the medical department of the Riel Expedition and would become Canada's first Director of Army Medical Services. After graduating from McGill, Roddick joined the staff of the Montreal General Hospital. In 1874 he was appointed demonstrator in anatomy at McGill and in 1875 Professor of clinical surgery. In 1877 after a period of study with Lister in Edinburgh, Roddick introduced antiseptic surgery into the M.G.H. In 1896 he was returned as federal M.P. for Montreal West and he drafted the legislation which created the Medical Council of Canada in 1911. From 1901 until his retirement in 1908, he served as McGill's Dean of Medicine. He was knighted in 1914.