John Glasgow Kerr

John Glasgow Kerr (November 30, 18241901) was an American medical missionary and philanthropist who helped establish The Canton Hospital, also known as the Ophthalmic Hospital, in Canton, China.

Kerr was born in Dunkinsville, Ohio and graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. He arrived in Canton in May 1854 with his wife to run the Huiji Dispensary of the Presbyterian Mission and the Canton Hospital (1855); Kerr served as superintendent of the hospital for 45 years. In 1859, Kerr opened Boji (boji meaning spreading benevolence) Hospital, located in Zhengsha Street in a southern suburb of Canton. In 1860, Kerr opened of the second dispensary in Foshan, later becoming the largest hospital in the city. In 1899, Kerr opened the first mental hospital in China.

During his time in Canton, Kerr treated 39,440 inpatients and 740,324 outpatients from 4,000 villages.

Early life John Glasgow Kerr was born on November 30, 1824. After his father's death, Kerr moved to Virginia to live with his uncle. In 1840, he started college in Granville, Ohio. Kerr studied medicine at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and graduated in 1847. He married Abby Lucy Kingsbury (1829–1855) in 1853 before leaving to become a medical missionary in China.

Career

Mission Kerr believed that medical missionaries should influence political and social reforms. "To introduce these institutions into lands where they do not exist is an important part of the duty of medical missionaries." (Kerr, 1895, p. 11) Kerr regarded physicians as powerful and in a position of honor with the obligation to others because medicine is "a profession of benevolence." (Xu, 2011, p. 195).

Kerr also believed that American general practitioners needed to persuade the Chinese to abandon what was described as outdated and "hostile" customs in order to adopt Western culture and the natural laws. Kerr advocated free medical services for Chinese patients because he felt fees interfered with the healing of the sick and the spirit of Christianity. The hospital performed the first ophthalmological surgery, the first ovariotomy, the first lithocystotomy, the first etherization, and the first pathological anatomy in China. The hospital also had China's first X-ray film shot and the first medical magazine printed.

Medical Missionary Society's Hospital The Medical Missionary Society's Hospital was located on the Pearl River on Yan-tsai Street in Canton. It included 10 buildings and 300 patient beds. The hospital was managed and funded by the Medical Missionary Society. Peter Parker opened the Medical Missionary Society's Hospital in 1839 and was succeeded by John Kerr as physician in charge. John Myers Swan became superintendent in 1891 and pushed for medical modernization. Kerr believed the focus should remain on Evangelization. The division with Swan led Kerr to leave the Canton Hospital in 1899.

Mental hospital Kerr retiring from the Canton Hospital in 1899, Kerr devoted his time to caring for the mentally ill. In China, it was public custom to treat for the person as a whole, including mental syndromes. The most common treatments in 19th century China included: shackles, fetters, herb medicines, acupuncture, toxin liquid therapy, and magic words or formulas.

In 1872, Kerr appealed to the Medical Missionary Society to build a mental hospital in China. Between 1876 and 1880, Kerr campaigned for the necessary and rightful treatment of patients with mental illnesses in their own, designated hospitals. Kerr believed in treating and curing the mentally ill rather than isolating them from society. However, neither the city government or the Canton Medical Missionary Society wanted to fund a mental hospital.

Kerr used his own money to purchase 17 acres in Fangcun (southwestern Canton) as a building site for the hospital. With donors and assistance, two buildings were erected . He attended to 50 patients at the hospital before his death.

The Committee 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.

Medical Journals Kerr promoted medical education in China for both men and women. He taught many Chinese medical students and translated over 34 volumes of medical work into Chinese. Some of these medical students were women who trained in the Canton Hospital medical classes (1879-1899). Kerr was also elected as the first president of the CMMA (China Medical Missionary Association) in 1886 and served as the first editor of China Medical Missionary Journal. In 1886, Kerr established Guangzhou Xinbao (Canton's New Newspaper) and Xiyi xinbao (Western Healing News).

Works

Legacy John Kerr Memorial Garden, Guangzhou (Grave of John Glasgow Kerr)Kerr died in Canton at age 77, after spending 47 years in that city. Thousands of mourners attended his funeral. However, during 1950's, the cemetery was removed for the purpose of town development. The current memorial garden of J. Kerr was built in 2013~14.