Born at Belmont, Upper Canada, and educated at Toronto and Johns Hopkins, Macallum joined the faculty of the University of Toronto and established there the first physiological laboratory in Canada. As Professor of Biochemistry at Toronto (1908-18), Chairman of the National Research Council (1916-20), and Professor of Biochemistry at McGill (1920-29), Dr. Macallum was a pioneer in scientific medicine and an authority in the field of cellular microchemistry. The author of many scientific papers, he was elected F.R.S.C. in 1901 and F.R.S. in 1906. He died at London, Ontario.