John Howard Cook

John Howard Cook, M.S., F.R.C.S. (30 May 1872 – 19 September 1946) was a British physician, missionary, lecturer, and disease consultant. With his brother he is known for the formation of the Mengo Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. Working alongside his brother, he carried his family's tradition of medical work overseas to Uganda where he focused on the surgical aspect of medical treatment. He spent 20 years spreading European medicine in Uganda and continued medical missionary service well beyond his years abroad.

Early life

John Howard Cook was born on 30 May 1872 in Hampstead, England. He was born to William Henry Cook, a medical officer in the Hampstead parish, and Mrs. Harriet Cook. John Howard Cook came from a large family and had 13 siblings during his childhood. Unfortunately, he was one of only 5 of the children who survived beyond their father's lifetime. Many of Cook's siblings died during childhood as a result of diseases like diphtheria, pneumonia, and typhoid fever. Only two years later he earned a Master of Surgery (M.S.) degree and became a member of the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (F.R.C.S.Eng). In addition to his many degrees prior to starting his missionary work, John Howard Cook earned a diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from Cambridge Cook's younger brother Albert was also a medical missionary through the CMS. Albert Cook arrived in Uganda shortly before the Ugandan Mutiny (1897–98), during which he played a large role in providing medical treatment to injured Ugandans in a time of heavy casualties and violence. Unfortunately, the original Mengo Hospital burnt down in 1902 as a result of a lightning fire, but an even bigger hospital was built almost immediately after the first. The newly constructed Mengo Hospital was twice as large and had nearly double the capacity. and much of his motivation for going to Uganda, aside from the medical work, was to play a role in the evangelization of the people he worked with. This influence was also present in his work at Toro Hospital.

Toro Hospital In 1912, John Howard Cook worked single-handedly for several months at Toro Hospital. As the sole doctor on staff his time at Toro Hospital further clarifies a strong linkage between Cook’s medical work and evangelism. During his time there, the fledgling hospital had an evangelist on staff, a native Ugandan who lived with the young men hired to work as ward assistants. Cook made itinerant visits to neighboring villages and gave lectures to his staff members on health and morality. John Howard Cook is often overshadowed by his brother Sir Albert Cook, who was knighted for his work in Uganda, and his brother Professor Arthur Cook, an esteemed archaeology professor at Cambridge. Despite this, John Howard Cook left behind a legacy of medical missionary work that attests to his ability to serve the communities in which he worked, whether in Uganda or England.