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