Leonora Howard King (April 17, 1851 – June 30, 1925) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
physician and medical
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 ...
who spent 47 years practising medicine in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
She was the first Canadian doctor to work in China, where she died in 1925.
Early life and education
Leonora Annetta Howard was the daughter of Peter T. and Dorothy E. Howard. She was born in Lansdowne, County Leeds,
Canada West
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...
(
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
), March 17, 1851. She was raised in Farmersville (now
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
). She was educated in Athens, Ontario and in New York. She qualified for and served as a teacher.
King was unable to attend medical school in Canada and received her medical degree from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1876.
Career
After joining the Women's Foreign Missionary Society of the
American Methodist Episcopal Missionary Society,
she left for China in 1877 where she was a missionary doctor with the American Methodist Episcopal Missionary Society in the northern Chinese province of
Zhili
Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th-century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a province, and renamed ...
.
She took up her residence alongside
Lucinda L. Combs
Lucinda L. Combs-Stritmatter (October 10, 1849April 23, 1919) was an American physician who was the first female Medical missions, medical missionary to provide medical care in China. She is credited with establishing the first women's hospital i ...
the first female physician to serve in China stationed by the Women's Foreign Missionary Society in Peking around August 1887. The pair worked together for a three months before Miss Combs relocated to
Jiujiang
Jiujiang (), formerly transliterated Kiukiang or Kew Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level city ...
.
In August, 1879, King attended Lady Li, the wife of
Viceroy of Zhili
The Viceroy of Zhili, fully referred to in Chinese as the Governor-General of Zhili and Surrounding Areas Overseeing Military Affairs and Food Production, Manager of Waterways, Director of Civil Affairs, was one of eight regional Viceroys during ...
Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; 15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901) was a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important ...
, then seriously ill, in
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
. On Lady Li's recovery, she remained in Tianjin, in practice with the use of a temple being given to her for the purpose. She founded, in Tianjin, the Methodist Episcopal Mission Hospital in 1880. In 1885 King opened a medical school for Chinese women and girls who had been educated in mission schools. In 1886, Lady Li built King another hospital, which was later known as Government Hospital for Women and Children, Tianjin. During the
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...
, Dr. Howard opened her hospital to wounded soldiers as opposed to women and children.
At the close of the war, King the first Western woman, was made a
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
an honour of the Imperial Chinese
Order of the Double Dragon
The Imperial Order of the Double Dragon () was an order awarded in the late Qing dynasty.
The Order was founded by the Guangxu Emperor on 7 February 1882 as an award for outstanding services to the throne and the Qing court. Originally it was a ...
.
In 1884, she married Rev. Alexander King, a member of the
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...
.
Awards
* In 2000, she was inducted into the
Canadian Medical Hall of Fame __NOTOC__
The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is a Canadian charitable organization, founded in 1994, that honours Canadians who have contributed to the understanding of disease and improving the health of people. It has an exhibit hall in London, O ...
.
* In 2004, she was inducted into the
American Medical Women's Association
The American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) is a professional advocacy and educational organization of women in medicine, women physicians and medical students. Founded in 1915 by Bertha vanhoosen, Bertha Van Hoosen, the AMWA works to advance ...
’s International Women in Medicine Hall of Fame.
References
Further reading
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Leonora
1851 births
1925 deaths
Canadian Methodist missionaries
Female Christian missionaries
Methodist missionaries in China
People from Leeds and Grenville United Counties
Canadian women physicians
Christian medical missionaries
Canadian expatriates in China
University of Michigan Medical School alumni
20th-century Canadian physicians
19th-century Canadian physicians
20th-century women physicians
19th-century women physicians