John Glasgow Kerr
Encyclopedia
John Glasgow Kerr was a Presbyterian medical missionary
to China
with the American Presbyterian Mission
.
Born in Duncansville, Ohio, Kerr graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. He went to China as a medical missionary and arrived at Guangzhou
in 1854. He soon took over the Ophthalmic Hospital in Canton run by Peter Parker
, the Guangzhou Boji Hospital
(The Canton Hospital). He was there for 47 years and treated almost 1 million patients. He performed 480,000 surgical operations including 1300 urinary calculus. In 1870 he trained 260 Chinese medicals. Sun Yatsen was later a student at the hospital. Kerr pioneered mental health
care in China. In 1898 he opened the Canton Refuge for the Insane, the first mental hospital in China, where he served until his death. In 1887 he was the first president of the Medical Missionary Association of China. He translated 34 volumes of Materia Medica
into Chinese and authored other medical books.
One of his students in 1886 was Sun Yat-sen
, who later became the first president of the Chinese Republic. Robert Elliott Speer
, in the "Monthly Missionary Survey", wrote of him,
In 1890 he was a founding member of the Permanent Committee for the Promotion of Anti-Opium
Societies. Fellow committee members were prominent missionaries BC Atterbury MD, American Presbyterian Mission in Peking, Archdeacon Arthur Evans Moule
, Church Missionary Society in Shanghai, Henry Whitney MD, American Board of Commissioners for foreign Missions in Foochow, the Rev Samuel Clarke, China Inland Mission in Kweiyang; the Rev Arthur Gostick Shorrock
, English Baptist Mission in Taiyuan and the Rev Griffith John
, London Mission Society in Hankow. They resolved to continue their opposition to the opium traffic, urging Christians in China to arouse public opinion against it. The desire of the missionaries that their ideas be carried out caused them to form “continuation committees” that were assigned tasks to assure that action would be taken on whatever matters had been approved by the conferences.
He was buried in the Protestant cemetery outside Canton, near three of his missionary colleagues, Dyer Ball
, Henry V. Noyes, and Joseph C. Thomson.
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
with the American Presbyterian Mission
American Presbyterian Mission
American Presbyterian Mission was an American Presbyterian missionary society, operated by the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, that was involved in sending workers to countries such as China during the late Qing Dynasty and to India in nineteenth century...
.
Born in Duncansville, Ohio, Kerr graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. He went to China as a medical missionary and arrived at Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
in 1854. He soon took over the Ophthalmic Hospital in Canton run by Peter Parker
Peter Parker (physician)
Peter Parker was an American physician and a missionary who introduced Western medical techniques into Qing Dynasty China. It was said that Parker "opened China to the gospel at the point of a lancet."- Early life :...
, the Guangzhou Boji Hospital
Guangzhou Boji Hospital
The Guangzhou Boji Hospital, Ophthalmic Hospital in Canton also known as the Canton Pok Tsai Hospital was a hospital in Guangzhou, Guangdong founded in November 4, 1835 by Peter Parker as an Ophthalmic hospital. In about 1854, John Glasgow Kerr became its director. In 1886 the hospital education...
(The Canton Hospital). He was there for 47 years and treated almost 1 million patients. He performed 480,000 surgical operations including 1300 urinary calculus. In 1870 he trained 260 Chinese medicals. Sun Yatsen was later a student at the hospital. Kerr pioneered mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
care in China. In 1898 he opened the Canton Refuge for the Insane, the first mental hospital in China, where he served until his death. In 1887 he was the first president of the Medical Missionary Association of China. He translated 34 volumes of Materia Medica
Materia medica
Materia medica is a Latin medical term for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing . The term 'materia medica' derived from the title of a work by the Ancient Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides in the 1st century AD, De materia medica libre...
into Chinese and authored other medical books.
One of his students in 1886 was Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...
, who later became the first president of the Chinese Republic. Robert Elliott Speer
Robert Elliott Speer
Robert Elliott Speer was an American religious leader and authority on missions.He was born at Huntingdon, Pa., graduated from Phillips Academy in 1886 and from Princeton in 1889, and studied at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1890-91. In 1891 he was appointed secretary of the American...
, in the "Monthly Missionary Survey", wrote of him,
In 1890 he was a founding member of the Permanent Committee for the Promotion of Anti-Opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
Societies. Fellow committee members were prominent missionaries BC Atterbury MD, American Presbyterian Mission in Peking, Archdeacon Arthur Evans Moule
Arthur Evans Moule
Arthur Evans Moule was an English missionary to China. He was the son of Henry Moule, vicar at Fordington, Dorset, and was educated at Malta Protestant College and the Church Missionary Society, Islington College.-Missionary in China:...
, Church Missionary Society in Shanghai, Henry Whitney MD, American Board of Commissioners for foreign Missions in Foochow, the Rev Samuel Clarke, China Inland Mission in Kweiyang; the Rev Arthur Gostick Shorrock
Arthur Gostick Shorrock
Arthur Gostick Shorrock , a pioneer Baptist missionary in China for 40 years. Arthur was born in 1861 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. He entered Spurgeon's College and as a student preacher took services at the Baptist Chapel in Wraysbury...
, English Baptist Mission in Taiyuan and the Rev Griffith John
Griffith John
Griffith John was a British Christian missionary and translator in China. A member of the Congregational church, he was a pioneer evangelist with the London Missionary Society , a writer and a translator of the Holy Bible into the Chinese language.-Biography:Griffith John was born on 14 December...
, London Mission Society in Hankow. They resolved to continue their opposition to the opium traffic, urging Christians in China to arouse public opinion against it. The desire of the missionaries that their ideas be carried out caused them to form “continuation committees” that were assigned tasks to assure that action would be taken on whatever matters had been approved by the conferences.
He was buried in the Protestant cemetery outside Canton, near three of his missionary colleagues, Dyer Ball
Dyer Ball
Dyer Ball was an American missionary and medical doctor in China. Born in West Boylston, Massachusetts, Dyer Ball studied at Phillips Academy and at Yale College for two years. He graduate from Union College, New York, in 1826, and then studied Theology at Yale and Andover Theological Seminary...
, Henry V. Noyes, and Joseph C. Thomson.
Further reading
- Hudson Taylor & China’s Open Century Volume Five: Refiner’s Fire; Alfred James BroomhallAlfred James BroomhallAlfred James Broomhall , a.k.a. A. J. Broomhall, was a British Protestant Christian medical missionary to China, and author and historian of the China Inland Mission .-Chinese roots:“Jim” Broomhall was born in Chefoo , Shandong, China, in 1911,...
; Hodder and Stoughton and Overseas Missionary Fellowship, 1984