John Scudder Sr.
A successful young physician in New York, John Scudder gave up a lucrative practice after a tract convinced him to take medicine to those without it, and sailed east in 1819 — the first medical missionary the United States sent out. He served first in Ceylon and then in the Arcot region of South India, joining doctoring to preaching across decades. His deepest mark, though, was his family: generations of Scudders became medical missionaries in India, culminating in his descendant Ida Scudder, who founded the great Vellore medical work.
- Practised and taught medicine alongside preaching in Ceylon and the Arcot region of South India. Scudder
- 1793Born in New Jersey, United States. Scudder
- 1819Sailed east as the first American medical missionary, to Ceylon. Scudder
- 1836Moved to the Madras / Arcot region of South India. Scudder
- 1855Died at Wynberg, near Cape Town, on a voyage for his health. Scudder
He began a family tradition of medical mission that ran for generations and led, through his descendant Ida Scudder, to the Christian Medical College at Vellore — one of India's foremost hospitals.
Much of Scudder's fame rests on the dynasty he founded rather than his own individual results; the Vellore legacy is his granddaughter's work as much as his.
Wikipedia — John Scudder (missionary)
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