Melbye and Me

According to my journals, which date from 1988, I first met Dr. Melbye at his fledgling forensic program at Erindale College on Thursday, January 16th, 1997, when he warmly greeted me to provide a lecture to his undergraduate students. I did this every year until 2000. It was my small contribution to the growth of forensic anthropology education in Canada.

I was always impressed by his kindness, warmth, and quiet integrity. The only time I saw him slightly angry was when I made a difficult journey through a blinding snowstorm from downtown Toronto to the Erindale campus – and over half the students who lived much closer did not show up to class. He did not shout. He simply shook his head. That was Dr. Melbye.

When I visited Dr. Melbye in his office, it was always a mess – books and papers everywhere. He was illegally smoking in his office at the time and had ashtrays filled with cigarette butts everywhere. On the floor was a large dog bowl half-full of kibble. It was chaotic, but it was his chaos. And in that office, surrounded by the clutter of a lifetime of forensic anthropology research, he was entirely at home.

He obtained his PhD from the University of Toronto in 1969, where he taught for 35 years as a forensic anthropology specialist. His legacy in the field is immense.

One early problem Dr. Melbye had was that pathologists at the time considered themselves to be “jacks of all trades” and would render forensic anthropology opinions without any formal training. This was a serious issue that undermined the credibility of the discipline.

One skull, a pathologist had labelled as a “Black Male” of recent origin, which meant the police would have to investigate the case. When Dr. Melbye examined the skull, he knew it was not a male and was historic, not recent. A carbon dating showed the skull dated to 1100 AD, which saved the police an investigation. This was the value of genuine forensic anthropology expertise.

Another skull the pathologist had labelled as “Italian”. Dr. Melbye found that one amusing. The pathologist had no basis for such a conclusion – it was guesswork dressed up as science. This story illustrates why forensic anthropology requires rigorous training, not casual assumptions.

Dr. Jim Young, who became the Chief Coroner of Ontario, was a supporter of the Erindale forensic program. Erindale became University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) at the Institute of Forensic Sciences (IFS). This transformation was the direct result of Dr. Melbye’s vision for forensic anthropology and forensic science education in Canada.

I was able to see the success of Dr. Melbye’s work when I visited UTM in July 2026 and toured with my colleagues Dr. Karen Woodall (Director of the Institute) and Dr. Christina Lamparter. The IFS is now housed in the modern Science building with impressive offices and labs. It is a world away from the messy office and kibble bowl – but the spirit of Dr. Melbye lives on in every student who passes through its doors.

As an aside, I would like to state that Jim Young lived on the same street as I did – Strathmore Blvd. in East Toronto – and went to Earl Beatty School as did I. He was more of a friend with my elder brother Larry, but I do remember him delivering the afternoon Toronto Star every day to my family home. He later became a sports writer for the Toronto Star, then a family physician in Elmvale near my Wasaga Beach cottage, and eventually became the prestigious Chief Coroner of Ontario. His support of Dr. Melbye’s forensic anthropology program was instrumental in its success.

My experiences with Dr. Melbye certainly deserve to be included in my Project 50, as he was a pioneer of forensic education and training in Canada, and I liked him. He built a program that has trained generations of forensic anthropology and forensic science professionals. He wore Hawaiian shirts and jean jackets. He told terrible jokes. He kept a dog bowl full of kibble on his office floor. And he changed forensic science in Canada forever.