Michael Bliss (born 1941) is a Canadian historian and outspoken public figure. 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Bliss entered the University of Toronto in 1958, and has been there ever since. He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. there and since 1969 has been a professor in the department of history. One time a student asked him how long he had been at the U of T. "All my life," he said a bit mournfully. Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto (U of T), in Toronto, Ontario, is the largest university in Canada and one of the most important scholarly publishers in North America. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

His doctoral dissertation, which was supervised by Ramsay Cook, was a social history of Canadian business, an analysis of the "thoughts and dreams" of businessmen in Canada during the National Policy years. It was published under the title A Living Profit. This article is about the thesis in dialectics and academia. ... George Ramsay Cook (born November 28, 1931), is a Canadian historian and general editor of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. ... Social history is an area of historical study considered by some to be a social science that attempts to view historical evidence from the point of view of developing social trends. ... The National Policy was a Canadian economic program introduced by John A. Macdonalds Conservative Party in 1879 after it returned to power. ...

Bliss has worked primarily in political, business and medical history - his books on two Canadians, the discoverer of insulin Sir Frederick Banting and on the famous physician Sir William Osler have been well received. Like J.L. Granatstein, his criticism of social history has made him a controversial figure in Canadian historiography. Sir Frederick Banting Sir Frederick Grant Banting, KBE (November 14, 1891 – February 21, 1941) was a Canadian medical scientist, doctor and Nobel laureate. ... Sir William Osler (July 12, 1849 - December 29, 1919) was a Canadian physician. ... Jack Lawrence Granatstein (born 1939) is a prolific and renowned Canadian historian who specializes in political and military history. ... Social history is an area of historical study considered by some to be a social science that attempts to view historical evidence from the point of view of developing social trends. ... Historiography is writing about rather than of history. ...

Bliss has been a frequent commentator on Canadian politics writing in newspapers and magazines, and appearing on television.

Works

• A Living Profit : studies in the social history of Canadian business 1883-1911 - 1974.
• Confederation, 1867 : The Creation of the Dominion of Canada - 1975
• A Canadian Millionaire: The Life and Business Times for Sir Joseph Flavelle - 1978
• The Discovery of Insulin - 1982
• Banting: A Biography - 1984
• Northern Enterprise: Five Centuries of Canadian Business - 1987
• Plague: A Story of Smallpox in Montreal - 1991 (nominated for Governor General's Award)
• Right Honourable Men - 1994
• William Osler: a Life in Medicine - 1999 (nominated for Governor General's Award)