Fast Facts about David Suzuki

As culled from his autobiography Metamorphosis: Stages in a Life (1988).

David is a second generation Canadian. His parents were both born in Canada. His grandparents were the ones who emigrated to British Columbia from Japan.

David cannot speak Japanese any more than the average tourist.

David spent part of his youth in Japanese work camps near Slocan, British Columbia. The entire Japanese community (including Canadian citizens of Japanese descent) was expelled from the Northwest Coast after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, their possessions confiscated and property revoked, out of fears that the community would ally with the enemy. This blight on Canada’s history is well explained in Joy Kogawa’s excellent book Obasan. (Check out this weird but compelling interpretation of the novel as a slide show).

David spent time in the same camp as Joy Kogawa. They were both young children. David’s inability to speak Japanese made him somewhat of a social outcast. He had few close friends and spent most of his time fishing and observing nature.

Even after WWII was over, Japanese families were not allowed to resettle on the west coast. David’s family eventually moved to London, Ontario, where he graduated high school.

David went to Amherst College, a small undergraduate liberal arts school west of Boston. At the time, Ontario had a grade 13 and those students who couldn’t pass the grade 13 government exams but wanted to attend university would go to a school in the States. Because of this, David was under the mistaken impression that American schools were mediocre. After almost flunking out the first year, David changed his work ethic.

At Amherst, David was the only Canadian and one of only two students of Japanese descent.

David worked as a busboy in the school dining rooms during his time at Amherst, as his scholarship did not cover his cost of living.

Amherst did not allow science majors to take more than 60% of their classes in the sciences. Thus David, a biology major, was forced to take subjects like history, phys ed, anthropology, political science, and classical music. David feels that this approach to education has actually made him a better person.

David did his Ph.D work at the University of Chicago. He finished it in 3 years. David never did a Master’s degree.

David made a name for himself in academia by studying the genetics of the fruit fly, including temperature-sensitive mutations.

David’s first job after graduation in 1961 was at the Union Carbide facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This is where the Manhattan Project occurred. He worked in the Biology Division. After two years, David decided to return to Canada because he was “consumed by bitterness and anger at the racism apparent all around me.” (p.159)

David’s first marriage was to another a woman of Japanese descent. They had three children but the marriage lasted less than a decade. David fully admits that he focused too much on his career to make the relationship work.

David’s first teaching job in Canada was at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He hated the cold winter and only lasted one year. He then accepted a job at UBC in Vancouver. Wus.

David spent the spring of 1969 teaching genetics at the University of California at Berkeley. He returned to UBC with long hair, a goatee, and dressed as a hippie. The rest of the faculty were displeased by his new appearance.

David met his second wife while attending a conference at Carleton University. She was a grad student in comparative literature. He credits her with making him realize and confront his subconscious sexist tendencies.

David was already an established professor before he began considering the moral responsibilities involved in science. This revelation was prompted by a discussion with one of his grad students.

David’s relationship with the CBC began when he was involved in a series about recent changes in science and society. This series only aired one episode. Frantic to fill the time slot, the CBC filmed three episodes of David and Al Kapuler debating the merits of recent discoveries. This lead to David being offered the job as host of “Suzuki on Science”. This lasted 2 seasons.

David then became the host of ‘Science Magazine”. This was a half hour show that highlighted new research in quick 10 minute segments. The show aired right before “The Nature of Things”, which had already been on TV for 10 years.

At the same time, David was the original host for “Quirks and Quarks” on CBC radio. Since he was fully immersed in broadcasting, David stopped doing active research, although he remained on the faculty at UBC.

In 1978, the two TV shows were amalgamated into “The Nature of Things with David Suzuki”

David’s house in Vancouver was used in the movie Mother Lode, starring Charlton Heston.

David was asked to become president of the National Research Council of Canada in 1979 by the Joe Clark government. The day after deciding to accept the position, the Clark government crumbled and the offer was revoked.

Things I did not learn: apparently David Suzuki is not my father. And I thought I had his nose.