John Alexander Hopps

Who was John Alexander Hopps?

John Alexander "Jack" Hopps, OC was one of the pioneers of the artificial pacemaker and is known as the "father of biomedical engineering in Canada".

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he received a B.Sc.Eng. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Manitoba in 1941. He joined the National Research Council of Canada in 1942.

Beginning in 1949, he worked with Dr. Wilfred Bigelow and Dr. John Callaghan at the Banting Institute in the University of Toronto, developing the world's first external artificial pacemaker in 1951.

Hopps was of the Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society and the President of the Ontario Heart Foundation.

In 1985, his autobiography, Passing Pulses, the Pacemaker and Medical Engineering: A Canadian Story, was published.

In 1986, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He is a member of the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame.