Isabella Kerr (née Gunn; 30 May 1875 – 12 January 1932) was a Scottish

medical missionary Medical missions is the term used for Christian missionary endeavors that involve the administration of medical treatment. As has been common among missionary efforts from the 18th to 20th centuries, medical missions often involves residents of th ...

who worked in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in the early 20th-century. She created the Victoria Leprosy Centre in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. She worked to cure

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

in India.

Early life and education

Isabella Kerr was born in Gollachy, Enzie in

Banffshire Banffshire ; sco, Coontie o Banffshire; gd, Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Moray ...

(now

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

), Scotland on 30 May 1875. Her parents were Mary Garden and John Bain Gunn, a farmer. Kerr studied medicine at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

receiving her

MB ChB Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

in 1903.

Career

Kerr met and married the Reverend George McGlashan Kerr, a former

joiner A joiner is an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ship, etc. Joiners may work in ...

, who had returned from being a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

. They married in 1903, and worked together in England until the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society sent the Kerrs to

in India in 1907. At their mission, Kerr and her husband worked on unrelated work but they both realised that the treatment of patients with

was inadequate. In 1911, Kerr opened a leprosy centre at the mission in

Nizamabad, Telangana Nizamabad is also known as Induru is a city in the Indian state of Telangana. Nizamabad is a major urban agglomeration and third largest city in the state. It is governed by municipal corporation and is the headquarters of the Nizamabad distr ...

, but in time, it attracted more patients than it could accommodate. With financial assistance from Raja Narsa Goud (Narsagoud) a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

philanthropist, who helped them receive a donation from the

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

Mir Osman Ali Khan Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (5 or 6 April 1886 — 24 February 1967), was the last Nizam (ruler) of the Princely State of Hyderabad, the largest princely state in British India. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of ...

, the last local ruler, to help build the Victoria Treatment Hospital on land the ruler donated at Dichpali, and in 1915, this larger and more permanent facility opened. By the early 1920s, the hospital had grown to more than 120 buildings. Kerr worked with Ernest Muir who had piloted the use of hydnocarpus oil ( chaulmoogra tree) to treat leprosy, based on earlier research by

Leonard Rogers Sir Leonard Rogers (18 January 1868 – 16 September 1962) was a founder member of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and its President from 1933 to 1935. Biography Rogers had a wide range of interests in tropical medicine, fr ...

, who began the British Empire Leprosy Relief Association. The Kerrs' centre at Dichpali was seen as leading the campaign against leprosy, and Kerr's writing helped make this the standard treatment throughout India. Kerr and her husband were awarded

Kaisar-i-Hind Medal The Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for Public Service in India was a medal awarded by the Emperor/Empress of India between 1900 and 1947, to "any person without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex ... who shall have distinguished himself (o ...

s in 1923.

Death and legacy

Kerr died suddenly in 1932. In her obituary it was said that 'Her medical skill and her devotion to the cause of the leper, together with her modest reserve and womanly charm, won her innumerable friends both in India and at home.' Her husband remained in India until 1938 when he retired to Scotland. In the 1960s, the leprosy centre that she founded had over 400 patients.Victoria Leprosy Hospital (Dichpali / Dichpalli)
LeprosyHistory, Retrieved 13 March 2017 The papers of Kerr and her husband are held in

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

.Papers of George McGlashan Kerr and Isabel Kerr
International Leprosy Association, Retrieved 13 April 2017

Awards and honours

, 1923

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Isabel 1875 births 1932 deaths 20th-century British medical doctors Scottish women medical doctors Recipients of the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal Christian medical missionaries University of Adelaide alumni Alumni of the University of Aberdeen 20th-century women physicians Wesleyan Methodists Scottish Methodist missionaries Methodist missionaries in India Female Christian missionaries