Dr. R.I. Harris significantly contributed to and shaped orthopaedics in Canada, and following his passing in 1966 the Foundation wished to honour his legacy by establishing a lecture session annually at the Canadian Orthopaedic Association’s (COA) Annual Meeting. The lectureship would create an opportunity for Canadian surgeons to meet and learn from distinguished guest lecturers from around the world. The Lectureship was approved by the COA Executive in 1968, and Sir Reginald Watson-Jones was invited to be the inaugural lecturer. As tribute to his friendship with Dr. Harris, Sir Reginald entitled his lecture: “Robert Harris and Amputations. Amputation of the Body and the Mind”. Since then, orthopaedic surgeons from around the world have presented at this annual lecture.
R.I. Harris Memorial Lecturers
| 1968 | Sir Reginald Watson-Jones | London, England |
| 1969 | J.I.P. James | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| 1970 | Bryan Keon-Cohen | Melbourne, Australia |
| 1971 | Robert A. Robinson | Baltimore, MD |
| 1972 | André Danis | Brussels, Belgium |
| 1973 | R.B. Duthie | Oxford, England |
| 1974 | G.C. Lloyd-Roberts | London, England |
| 1975 | Leon L. Wiltse | Long Beach, CA |
| 1976 | Frederick P. Dewar | Toronto, ON |
| 1977 | Frank P. Patterson | Vancouver, BC |
| 1978 | Sir Denis Patterson | Adelaide, Australia |
| 1979 | Graham Apley | Surrey, England |
| 1980 | Henry J. Mankin | Boston, MA |
| 1981 | Paul Curtiss | Boston, MA |
| 1982 | J. William Fielding | New York, NY |
| 1983 | William Enneking | Jacksonville, FL |
| 1984 | Philip D. Wilson | New York, NY |
| 1985 | David S. Bradford | Minneapolis, MN |
| 1986 | Clement B. Sledge | Boston, MA |
| 1987 | Hans K. Uhthoff | Ottawa, ON |
| 1988 | John A. Wilkinson | Southampton, England |
| 1989 | Norbert Gschwend | Zurich, Switzerland |
| 1990 | Charles Sorbie | Kingston, ON |
| 1991 | Henry Bohlman | Cleveland, OH |
| 1992 | Robert Y. McMurtry | Calgary, AB |
| 1993 | John V. Fowles | Montreal, QC |
| 1994 | John E. Hall | Boston, MA |
| 1995 | Robert W. Jackson | Dallas, TX |
| 1996 | Allan E. Gross | Toronto, ON |
| 1997 | Morris Duhaime | Montreal, QC |
| 1998 | Cecil H. Rorabeck | London, ON |
| 1999 | Robert B. Bourne | London, ON |
| 2000 | Robert N. Meek | Vancouver, BC |
| 2001 | Peter J. Fowler | London, ON |
| 2002 | James P. Waddell | Toronto, ON |
| 2003 | Richard L. Cruess | Montreal, QC |
| 2004 | Cyril B. Frank | Calgary, AB |
| 2005 | Hubert Labelle | Montréal, QC |
| 2006 | Paul H. Wright | Vancouver, BC |
| 2007 | Willam R.J. Rennie | Winnipeg, MB |
| 2008 | Norman S. Schachar | Calgary, AB |
| 2009 | Robin R. Richards | Toronto, ON |
| 2010 | Nick Mohtadi | Calgary, AB |
| 2011 | Thomas A. Russell | Memphis, TN |
| 2012 | Daniel Berry | Rochester, MN |
| 2013 | Keith Willett | Oxford, England |
| 2014 | Cecil H. Rorabeck | London, ON |
| 2015 | Robert B. Bourne | London, ON |
| 2016 | Marc Swiontkowski | Bloomington, MN |
| 2017 | Richard J. Hawkins | USA / Canada |
| 2018 | Stuart L. Weinstein | Iowa City, IA |
| 2019 | Richard L. Cruess | Montreal, QC |
| 2022 | Douglas C. Thomson | Mono, ON |
| 2023 | David Parker | Sydney, Australia |