Lewis Strong Casey Smythe ronounced "Smith"(

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January 31, 1901 – June 1, 1978) was a sociologist and an American Christian

missionary A missionary is a member of a 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.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

to China who was present during the

Nanjing Massacre The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the ...

. The son of Lewis Strong Smythe (of

DeRuyter, New York DeRuyter is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 1,589 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, a famous admiral in the Dutch navy. The name de Ruyter (de Ruĳter) means "the ...

) and Annie Amelia Casey (of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Canada), Smythe spent most of his early life in Great Falls, Montana 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 Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, 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) 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, Chicago Divinity School) 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 The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

'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 Ch ...

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

(Nanking) by the United Christian Mission Society (

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

). 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 Xianl ...

(1928 – 1951) while his wife, a physician (MD from

Rush University Rush University is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. The university, founded in 1972, is the academic arm of Rush University Medical Center. Rush University comprises: * Rush Medical College * Rush University College of Nursing ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, served as a medical missionary. Smythe was in Nanjing during the

Battle of Nanking The Battle of Nanking (or Nanjing) was fought in early December 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War between the Chinese National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army for control of Nanking (Nanjing), the capital of the Repu ...

and its aftermath, the

. He served as Secretary of the

International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone The International Committee was established in 1937 order to establish and manage the Nanking Safety Zone. Many Westerners were living in the city at that time, conducting trade or on missionary trips. As the Imperial Japanese Army began to app ...

from December 14, 1937 to February 10, 1938. In that role, he and the Committee's chairman,

John Rabe John Heinrich Detlef Rabe (23 November 1882 – 5 January 1950) was a German businessman and Nazi Party member best known for his efforts to stop war crimes during the Japanese Nanjing Massacre (also known as Nanking) and his work to prot ...

, 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Smythe was among members of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone who testified about the

to the International Military Tribunal of the Far East. 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 During a one-year sabbatical (1957 – 1958), he served as the Assistant to the President of

Silliman University Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private research university in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, the Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, it is ...

(

Dumaguete Dumaguete, officially the City of Dumaguete ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dumaguete; fil, Lungsod ng Dumaguete), is a 3rd income class component city and the capital of the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a p ...

, Philippines) and instituted a local, rural development program. In the documentary film ''Nanking (2007 film), Nanking'', Smythe was portrayed by actor Stephen Dorff.

References

See also