Sir San Crombie Po,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(4 October 1870 – 7 June 1946) was a

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic l ...

nationalist who devoted himself to improving the situation of the Karen people of

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

in the early 20th century. He was born in 1870 near the village of Bassein. His family was Sgaw Karen and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. He attended a school headed by an American missionary, Charles Nichols, who was impressed with his motivation and decided Po should continue his education in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. At the age of fourteen, he was sent to live with relatives of Dr. Nichols. After high school, he attended

Albany Medical College Albany Medical College (AMC) is a private medical school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1839 by Alden March and James H. Armsby and is one of the oldest medical schools in the nation. The college is part of the Albany Medical Center, which ...

and received his MD degree in 1893. He applied for naturalization as a U.S. citizen but was denied on the grounds of his race. He returned to

and served as the district medical officer in Bassein, followed by Kyaukse and Myaungmya. He increasingly became involved in Karen nationalist affairs and in 1915 was appointed to the

Legislative Council of Burma The Legislative Council of Burma was the legislative body of British Burma from 1897 to 1936. Establishment It was established in 1897 as an advisory council to the British colonial governor, the Lieutenant-Governor of Burma, in drafting legisla ...

, an advisory council to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

colonial governor. He was appointed a

and was further

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1933. He is also known for his book ''Burma and the Karens''. Published in 1928, ''Burma and the Karens'' now functions as a survey on the situation facing the Karen people in the early 20th century.Paung, Shah. "San C. Po: Elusive Dream." ''Irrawaddy News Magazine'' June 2004.

References

External links

*
Irrawaddy article on San C. Po
*Rea

a
Project Gutenberg Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:San C. Po 1870 births 1946 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Burmese knights 20th-century Burmese historians Albany Medical College alumni Burmese Karen people Burmese Christians Members of the Legislative Council of Burma