Born on August 20, 1908, Robert Bews Kerr was raised in Hamilton, Ontario. He obtained his MD from the University of Toronto in 1933. Kerr's training in Internal Medicine was taken in Toronto and London, England, where he undertook fundamental research in diabetes with Sir Charles Best and Sir Harold Hinsworth. Kerr served in the Canadian Army from 1941 to 1945 in England, Belgium, and Germany. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1944 for his successful treatment of an outbreak of Diptheria involving 430 cases. After returning to Canada, Kerr served as the Head of Therapeutics at the University of Toronto until 1950. Then, he moved to the University of British Columbia, where he became the founding head of the Department of Medicine. Kerr was a role model as a teacher and a clinician to UBC medical students from 1950 to 1974. He retired from UBC in 1974 but continued in private practice well into the 1980s. In addition to his teaching and medical training, Kerr was also active in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Canada. He served on the Board of that organization as a Councillor and President in 1966-1968. He was a long-time resident of the University Hill community and was active in community affairs in Vancouver. Kerr died on December 19, 1997.