James Churchill Omosanya Vaughan Jr.,

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

(30 May 1893 – 1937) was a Nigerian doctor and a prominent political activist.

Birth and education

Vaughan was born in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

on 30 May 1893, the son of James Wilson Vaughan, who descended from the 19th century American artisan

Scipio Vaughan Scipio Vaughan (1784–1840) was an African-American artisan and slavery in the United States, slave who inspired a "Back-to-Africa movement, back to Africa" movement among some of his offspring to connect with their roots in Africa, specifically ...

and through whom he also had

Catawba Catawba may refer to: *Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas *Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family *Catawban languages Botany *Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other N ...

ancestry. His father was a prosperous Lagos

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

merchant. He was among the first set of scholars at

King's College, Lagos King's College, Lagos (KCL) is a secondary school in Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was founded on 20 September 1909 with 10 students on its original site at Lagos Island, adjacent to Tafawa Balewa Square. The school admits only male student ...

when it was founded in 1909. Vaughan and Isaac Ladipo Oluwole were the two first Nigerian students at the University of Glasgow, studying medicine there from 1913 to 1918, when they graduated with medical degrees. The two students were subject to racial prejudice. In the program for the final dinner in 1918, Vaughan was given an epithet after

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

's "The Twa Dogs", likening him to a foreign born dog, "whalpit some place far abroad".

Career

Returning to Nigeria in the early 1920s, Vaughan set up a private clinic. He also provided free medical services for the destitute. Vaughan attempted with little success to collate the works of the pioneering Nigerian doctor Oguntola Sapara, who had taken a special interest in traditional herbal medicines, but had left only fragmentary records of his researches. Vaughan became an outspoken critic of the British Colonial Administration, and in 1934 was one of the founders of the

Lagos Youth Movement The Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) was Nigeria's first genuine nationalist organization, founded in Lagos at Stanley Orogun, with Professor Eyo Ita as the founding father and many others, including Samuel Akisanya. Ernest Ikoli, the first editor of ...

along with other leading activists including Dr Kofo Abayomi, Hezekiah Oladipo Davies,

Ernest Sissei Ikoli Ernest Sissei Ikoli (1893–1960) was a Nigerian politician, nationalist and pioneering journalist; he was the first editor of the Daily Times. He was the president of the Nigerian Youth Movement and in 1942, represented Lagos in the Legislative C ...

, and

Samuel Akinsanya Samuel Akisanya, (1 August 1898 – January 1985) was a Nigerian trade unionist and nationalist based in Lagos, Nigeria during the colonial era, one of the founders of the Nigerian Youth Movement. He was also the Oba of Isara, an office which ...

. Vaughan was the first president of the movement. The Lagos Youth Movement originally had improvement of higher education as its goal, but within four years had become the most influential nationalist organization in the country. It was renamed the Nigerian Youth Movement in 1936 to emphasize its pan-Nigerian objectives. One of the early issues was the curriculum of medical teaching at the

Yaba Higher College Yaba Higher College was founded in 1932 in Yaba, now a suburb of Lagos in Nigeria to provide tertiary education to Africans, mostly in vocational subjects and teaching. The college staff were transferred to start the University of Ibadan in 1948 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan James Churchill Nigerian activists 1893 births 1937 deaths King's College, Lagos alumni Physicians from Lagos 19th-century Nigerian people 20th-century Nigerian medical doctors People from colonial Nigeria Yoruba physicians Yoruba activists History of Lagos James Churchill Nigerian people of Cherokee descent Nigerian nationalists Yoruba politicians 20th-century Nigerian politicians Alumni of the University of Glasgow Medical School Nigerian humanitarians