Rhena Schweitzer Miller
Encyclopedia
Rhena Schweitzer Miller was an American humanitarian activist, the director of the hospital
her father founded in west central Africa and a key organizer of the fellowship that bears his name. She was the daughter and only child of Albert Schweitzer
.
, the hospital that they had founded there in present-day Gabon
in 1913 was closed and they were taken to a prison camp in France
. Rhena Schweitzer was born in Strasbourg
in Alsace-Lorraine
in 1919 after the territory's post-World War I
return to French control following 45 years as part of Germany. With his family still in Europe, Dr. Schweitzer went back to Africa in 1924, with occasional visits from his daughter and wife over the following two decades.
She married Jean Eckert in 1939, whom she later divorced. In 1940, she was asked by her father to form the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, which raises funds to support the operation of the hospital her father founded in Gabon and pays for medical care in other areas around the world where additional assistance is needed.
She was trained as a medical technician and went to Africa to work at the hospital in Gabon. Following her father's death, she took over the operation of the hospital, remaining in that role until 1970. By the time of Miller's death, the hospital had grown to encompass 150 beds in 12 buildings, serving 35,000 patients annually. In the late 1960s, during the Nigerian Civil War
, Miller took in Ibo children from Biafra
into the hospital, and had 20 beds placed in her home when the hospital was full, with two children sleeping in each bed.
She met David C. Miller
, her second husband, at the hospital. Miller was a physician who had come to Gabon to perform a study on heart disease at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital and developed a close relationship with Dr. Schweitzer, caring for him at the time of his death in 1965. The couple were married in 1971. The couple lived in Atlanta and traveled around the world offering medical assistance in Afghanistan
, Bangladesh
, Ethiopia
, Haiti
, India
, Nigeria
, Pakistan
, Vietnam
and Yemen
. David Miller died in March 1997.
Together with Harold Robles
, Miller established the Albert Schweitzer Institute for the Humanities in 1984, which later established its headquarters at Quinnipiac University
in Hamden, Connecticut
. Robles and Miller created the "Reverence for Life Commendation" in 1990 to recognize humanitarian efforts performed in the spirit of Albert Schweitzer.
Miller died at age 90 on February 22, 2009 in Pacific Palisades, California, at the home of one of her daughters. She was survived by a son and three daughters from her first marriage, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Albert Schweitzer Hospital
The Medical Research Unit of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital was established in Lambaréné, Gabon, to study major causes of disease burden in the local population...
her father founded in west central Africa and a key organizer of the fellowship that bears his name. She was the daughter and only child of Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...
.
Biography
In 1917, Albert Schweitzer and his wife, the former Helene Breslau, had been arrested as German citizens in French Equatorial AfricaFrench Equatorial Africa
French Equatorial Africa or the AEF was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.-History:...
, the hospital that they had founded there in present-day Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
in 1913 was closed and they were taken to a prison camp in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Rhena Schweitzer was born in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
in Alsace-Lorraine
Alsace-Lorraine
The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east...
in 1919 after the territory's post-World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
return to French control following 45 years as part of Germany. With his family still in Europe, Dr. Schweitzer went back to Africa in 1924, with occasional visits from his daughter and wife over the following two decades.
She married Jean Eckert in 1939, whom she later divorced. In 1940, she was asked by her father to form the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, which raises funds to support the operation of the hospital her father founded in Gabon and pays for medical care in other areas around the world where additional assistance is needed.
She was trained as a medical technician and went to Africa to work at the hospital in Gabon. Following her father's death, she took over the operation of the hospital, remaining in that role until 1970. By the time of Miller's death, the hospital had grown to encompass 150 beds in 12 buildings, serving 35,000 patients annually. In the late 1960s, during the Nigerian Civil War
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967–15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra...
, Miller took in Ibo children from Biafra
Biafra
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a secessionist state in south-eastern Nigeria that existed from 30 May 1967 to 15 January 1970, taking its name from the Bight of Biafra . The inhabitants were mostly the Igbo people who led the secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious...
into the hospital, and had 20 beds placed in her home when the hospital was full, with two children sleeping in each bed.
She met David C. Miller
David C. Miller
David C. Miller was an American physician and epidemiologist who attended to Albert Schweitzer until the humanitarian's death and later devoted his life to famine and medical relief efforts together with his wife, who was Schweitzer's daughter.Miller was born on March 9, 1917, in Elizabeth, New...
, her second husband, at the hospital. Miller was a physician who had come to Gabon to perform a study on heart disease at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital and developed a close relationship with Dr. Schweitzer, caring for him at the time of his death in 1965. The couple were married in 1971. The couple lived in Atlanta and traveled around the world offering medical assistance in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
. David Miller died in March 1997.
Together with Harold Robles
Harold Robles
Prof. Dr. Harold Robles is known for his international humanitarian work as a devotee of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Albert Schweitzer.In 1973, he founded the Albert Schweitzer Center in the Netherlands, an international clearinghouse for students and scholars seeking publications and archival...
, Miller established the Albert Schweitzer Institute for the Humanities in 1984, which later established its headquarters at Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in Hamden, Connecticut, United States at the foot of Sleeping Giant State Park...
in Hamden, Connecticut
Hamden, Connecticut
Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant." Hamden is home to Quinnipiac University. The population was 58,180 according to the Census Bureau's 2005 estimates...
. Robles and Miller created the "Reverence for Life Commendation" in 1990 to recognize humanitarian efforts performed in the spirit of Albert Schweitzer.
Miller died at age 90 on February 22, 2009 in Pacific Palisades, California, at the home of one of her daughters. She was survived by a son and three daughters from her first marriage, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.