Arley Munson Hare

Arley Isabel Hare ( Munson; November 14, 1871 – c. 1941) was an American physician, surgeon, author, and lecturer. As a young woman in the early 20th century, Munson was a pioneer in the field of medical mission work with the Wesleyan Methodist Mission in Medak, Andhra Pradesh, India. Along with evangelical motives, Munson had a special interest in the state of the health of Indian women and children and in the treatment of epidemics such as cholera or tuberculosis.

She served in France during World War I, directing laboratories, clinics, and dispensaries. The French Government awarded her with the Medaille d’Honneur des Affaires Étrangères pour actes de courage et dévouement au personnel militaire étranger for her medical service. She married at the age of 52 and worked well into her seventies. She died in or around 1941 and is buried in Connecticut.

Background and education Early life and family Arley Isabel Munson was born on November 14, 1871, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Thomas Hamilton Munson and Mary Etta Hill Munson. She was one of five siblings, including Burton, George, Gertrude, Alexander, and Mary. Each sibling had a career of his or her own, with Alexander working at Liberty National Bank and Mary as prominent teacher and lawyer in Red Bank, New Jersey.

Higher-level education Munson attended Cornell University from 1899 to 1901 for her undergraduate education. Drexel Professor Steven J. Peitzman includes her as one of the "Golden Age" graduates of the Women's Medical College because of her enterprising medical mission work at the turn of the century.

Medical missionary work in India

The missionary journey Munson had aspirations to work abroad as a doctor since childhood. She was determined to follow her firmly established evangelical principles in her work, even refusing a government post abroad because of the restrictions against teaching Christianity. The book's title and content, with many references to the English writer Rudyard Kipling, indicate her profound admiration for the author. Munson's book documented the similarities between her experiences in India and those of the characters in Kipling's novels. In addition, the title of her first book, Jungle Days, resembles the title of Kipling's famous work The Jungle Book.

Career after Indian missionary service

Munson returned to the United States in 1908, where her career path took a more erratic trajectory, with frequent relocations and several switches to different specialities. Initially, she continued to promote her work abroad, lecturing at universities and conferences about her medical and religious work in the United States and England. She left this work to become the director and instructor in the Serology Department at the Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital in New York City.

Upon her return to the United States, Munson became the associate editor and director of the Research Department at the International Medical and Surgical Survey. She remained an active member of the American Medical Association, the New Jersey State Medical Society, the New York County Medical Society, Monmouth County Medical Society, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the American Association of University Women. The couple settled in Passaic, New Jersey, and had no children.

Evidence suggests that Munson continued working in New York City until around 1941 when she died.