Lewis Strong Casey Smythe ronounced "Smith"( Washington, D.C. January 31, 1901 – June 1, 1978) was a sociologist and an American Christian missionary to

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 ...

who was present during the Nanjing Massacre. The son of Lewis Strong Smythe (of DeRuyter, New York) and Annie Amelia Casey (of New Brunswick, Canada), Smythe spent most of his early life in

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...

where he finished high school and worked on a cattle ranch. During his undergraduate studies he met Margaret "Mardie" Lillian Garrett, an American born in Nanjing, China, to missionary parents; the couple married in 1924 and had two daughters – Margaret "Peggy" Ann (1931 – 2016) and E. Joan (1934 – 1963). Smythe enrolled at Drake College in 1918, where he received his

Bachelor of Science in Law The Bachelor of Science in Law (BSL) is a somewhat special-purpose undergraduate degree that is typically intended for students who have completed some undergraduate education, but not received a baccalaureate degree, and are intending to resume th ...

and BA degrees in 1923. In March 1927, he earned an MA (Department of Practical Theology,

Chicago Divinity School The University of Chicago Divinity School is a private graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries. Formed under Baptist auspices, the school today lacks any s ...

) for his dissertation "The Social Background of the Shanghai Incident and Its Influence Upon Christian Missions in Chicago". In August 1928, he earned a Ph.D. (Department of Christian Theology and Ethics,

) for his dissertation "Bibliographic Details Changes in the Christian Message for China by Protestant Missionaries". He was also influenced by and affiliated with faculty from the University of Chicago's prestigious Chicago School (sociology), notably

Ernest Burgess Ernest Watson Burgess (May 16, 1886 – December 27, 1966) was a Canadian-American urban sociologist born in Tilbury, Ontario. He was educated at Kingfisher College in Oklahoma and continued graduate studies in sociology at the University of C ...

and

Robert E. Park Robert Ezra Park (February 14, 1864 – February 7, 1944) was an American urban sociologist who is considered to be one of the most influential figures in early U.S. sociology. Park was a pioneer in the field of sociology, changing it from a pas ...

. In 1928, the Smythes were dispatched to Nanjing (Nanking) by the United Christian Mission Society ( Indianapolis, Indiana). Smythe served as Professor of Sociology at

Nanking University Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xianli ...

(1928 – 1951) while his wife, a physician (MD from Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, served as a medical missionary. Smythe was in Nanjing during the Battle of Nanking and its aftermath, the Nanjing Massacre. He served as Secretary of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone from December 14, 1937 to February 10, 1938. In that role, he and the Committee's chairman, John Rabe, recorded the atrocities committed by Japanese troops and made daily reports complaining to the Japanese embassy. Smythe reported that while the Japanese embassy continually promised to do something about the atrocities, it was not until February 1938 that anything substantive was done to restore order to the city. After the end of World War II, Smythe was among members of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone who testified about the Nanjing Massacre to the

International Military Tribunal of the Far East The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial or the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on April 29, 1946 to try leaders of the Empire of Japan for crimes against peace, conven ...

. The Smythes were forced by the Communists to leave China in 1951. Smythe subsequently worked as an adviser to several organizations and wrote several articles and books relating to social change in China. He served as a Professor and Chair of the newly established Department of Christian Community (1952 – 1964) at The College of the Bible (

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

During a one-year sabbatical (1957 – 1958), he served as the Assistant to the President of Silliman University ( Dumaguete, Philippines) and instituted a local, rural development program. In the documentary film '' Nanking'', Smythe was portrayed by actor Stephen Dorff.

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