Dr. John Bell (1845-1878) was born in Toronto, Ontario, son of Rev. Andrew Bell (an early pioneer in Canadian geology) and younger brother of Canadian geologist Robert Bell. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and his first medical degree from Queen's University in the early 1860s. Around the time of his graduation, he spent five months apprenticing with the United States Army in two American Army General Hospitals close to the front lines of the American Civil War – Brown General Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky, and the US General Floating Hospital, Ohio, at New Albany, Indiana.

Bell furthered his medical education at McGill University, graduating in 1866 with a Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery (MD,CM). Upon graduation, he took the appointment of Senior Apothecary at the Montreal General Hospital – a post which he held for nearly three years. Bell then embarked on ten years of private practice on Beaver Hall Hill in Montreal. There are few details about his practice, although in the late 1870s he was Physician to the Protestant Infants’ Home and the Montreal Dispensary.

He published “The Case of Progressive Pernicious Anemia” in 1877 in Transactions of Canada Medical Association containing remarks from William Osler, and in 1878 he published “Case of Diphtheria, Acute Laryngeal Symptoms – Tracheotomy – Recovery” in Canada Medical and Surgical Journal.

At the time of his death, he had applied to, and was being considered for, the position of Attending Physician/House Surgeon at Montreal General Hospital – the position that William Osler subsequently filled. While visiting relations in Ontario, Bell fell seriously ill with Pneumonia and succumbed to the illness just a few days later on March 29th, 1878. Bell is known to have been a great inspiration to his friend and colleague, William Osler

Margaret Anne Bell was the daughter of Peter Bell and Jane Mercer, and a niece of Margaret Dawson.

Mathewson Bell was the son of Peter Bell and Jane Mercer.

Peter Bell was the husband of Jane Mercer. They had 13 children, including George Mercer Bell.

Robert Edward Bell, internationally famous nuclear physicist, was born in England of Canadian parents in 1918 and grew up in Ladner, B.C. He graduated from University of British Columbia with an Honours B.A. in Mathematics and Physics in 1939. In 1941 he acquired an M.A. in Physics from the same university. During the Second World War, Bell worked in the National Research Council Laboratories in Ottawa pursuing research on the development of VHF, UHF radar and microwave antennas for military purposes. From 1946 to 1952 he worked at Chalk River Nuclear Energy Laboratory in Ontario in nuclear physics research. This work formed the major part of Bell's thesis for his Ph.D. degree in Physics, which was granted to him by McGill University in 1948. In 1952 he worked at McGill University as a Research Associate utilizing the cyclotron as part of his Chalk River research. In 1954 he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and one year later Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Between 1956 and 1960 he was an associate professor at McGill University. From 1958 to 1959 he worked in Copenhagen, Denmark at the Institute of Neils Bohr. In 1960 Robert Bell became director of the Foster Radiation Laboratory at McGill University and held this function until 1969. In the same year he was named Rutherford Professor of Physics at McGill. Between 1964 and 1967 he was Vice-Dean for Physical Sciences. In 1965 Robert Bell was named a Fellow of the Royal Society, London for his work in nuclear physics, and he was also a member of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge. In 1969 Robert Bell became Dean of Graduate Studies and Research and one year later he was appointed Principal and Vice-Chancellor. In 1979 he returned to the Physics Department. In 1983 he was offered a post at the Arts, Science and Technology Centre in Vancouver and left McGill. He was the director for two formative years of the Centre before his retirement. Dr. Bell lectured in Canada and in Europe and published more than 40 scientific articles. In 1971 Robert Bell was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada. Between 1978 and 1981 he was a president of the Royal Society of Canada. Also, from 1981 to 1990 he was Canadian delegate to the Science Council of NATO. His most significant contribution to scientific research was the discovery of a new form of radioactivity - delayed proton, and its development into a powerful spectroscopic tool.

Robert Bell was born in Toronto. He was the son of Rev. Andrew Bell (an early pioneer in Canadian geology), and the older brother of John Bell 1845-1878 (fellow McGill graduate and friend/colleague of William Osler). In 1861, at the age of 19, Robert Bell graduated from McGill with a Bachelor of Science. From 1863 to 1867 he taught chemistry and natural science at Queen's University, but it was his connection with the Geological Survey of Canada, one which went back as far as 1857, which dominated his professional life. Bell was responsible for surveys covering northern Québec and Ontario, northern Manitoba, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories. He also took part in expeditions to Hudson's Bay (1884, 1885 and 1897) and Baffinland (1897). He served as director of the Survey from 1901 to 1906. See also Section II. McGill Students; Special Collection: Medical Students' Notes
It was Bell’s connection with the Geological Survey of Canada, which he began in 1857, that dominated much of his professional life. Over the years, he was responsible for Canadian surveys covering northern Quebec and Ontario, northern Manitoba, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories. He also took part in early expeditions to Hudson’s Bay (1884, 1885 and 1897) and Baffinland (1897). Bell would go on to serve as Director of Survey from 1901 to 1906. Throughout his career, Bell was instrumental in naming more than 3000 geographical features such as hills, promontories, rivers, and places for possible habitation. The Geological Survey Board acknowledged his legacy by naming the Bell River in western Quebec after him, as well as naming Bell Island in Hudson Bay in his honour.

Bell was impressively known as a ‘doctor-explorer’, as he had returned to McGill and earned an MD in 1878 at the age of 37. Fifteen years later, he was given an LLD by Queen’s in 1893 and was made a DSc at McGill in 1901. His services to science were also recognized by Cambridge University in another doctorate of science (ScD) in 1903. In that same year, he was awarded the Companionship of the Imperial Service Order (ISO) from the British government. Robert Bell’s professional honours included the Patron’s Medal of the Royal Geographical Society and the Cullum Gold Medal from the American Geographical Society.