Born February 27, 1926, in Windsor, Ontario, of American parents, Elsie M. Hunter Hubel (pronounced hyü-ble) and Jesse H. Hubel, David Hunter Hubel grew up in Montreal. From his father, who was a chemical engineer, Hubel developed an interest in science, especially chemistry and electronics.

From 1932 to 1944, Hubel attended the Strathcona Academy in Outremont, Ontario. He began his college studies at McGill University in 1944. Although he received his B.S. with honors in mathematics and physics, he decided to enter McGill University Medical School in 1947--a decision which he appears to have made almost on the spur of the moment, since he had not taken any college course in biology. He also worked summers at the Montreal Neurological Institute, where he began his studies of the nervous system. He received his medical degree in 1951 and spent the next four years studying clinical neurology, first at the Montreal Neurological...