Robert Kerr

Robert Kerr, M.D., (?-1918) was a Scottish physician, missionary, judge, and author. Sent to Morocco by the Jewish Committee of the English Presbyterian Church to work as both a medical and religious missionary, Kerr provided various types of medical care to both Jewish and Muslim people. He served in Morocco for 30 years and provided aid to a diverse group of patients. The bulk of his missionary work is recorded in his novels Pioneering in Morocco: A Record of Seven Years’ Medical Mission Work in the Palace and the Hut and Morocco After Twenty-Five Years.

Early life and call to missionary work

Robert Kerr was born in Glasgow, Scotland (date unknown), into a Presbyterian family. Originally practicing medicine in Scotland and England, Kerr was called upon by the Presbyterian Church of England to serve as both a medical and religious missionary to the people of Morocco. Sharing Kerr’s passion for religious mission work and care for the underprivileged, his wife Miss Jeffrey joined him in Morocco along with his children.

Missionary work

Robert Kerr pursued his medical and religious missionary work through the Jewish Committee of the English Presbyterian Church. His missionary work began with his dispatch to Rabat, Morocco on 20 February 1886. Kerr eventually worked as an independent missionary in 1894, resigning his ties with the Presbyterian Church of England due to a lack of funding from the group. In Rabat, Kerr served at the Medical Mission Housf.

Missionary work in Salé

Kerr's work in Salé also centered on medical care and religious conversion. His work in Salé was carried out synchronously with his missionary service in Rabat, and he made his first trip to Salé in March 1886. Upon Kerr's passing, the Khalifa of Rabat expressed the community's deep sense of loss of "[their] precious doctor." Kerr's ability to break down religious barriers and gain acceptance into different cultures has solidified him as a notable medical missionary.

Writings Pioneering in Morocco: A Record of Seven Years' Medical Mission Work in the Palace and the Hut (2007) Morocco After Twenty-Five Years (1912)