Henry Martyn Scudder
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Henry Martyn Scudder | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 February 1822 Pandatharippu, Sri Lanka |
| Died | 4 June 1895 (aged 73) |
Henry Martyn Scudder (5 February 1822 – 4 June 1895) was a missionary under the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and Board of Foreign Missions of the Reformed Church in America to Japan and South India. He served at the American Madura Mission and American Madras Mission. He also established the American Arcot Mission, in North Arcot, South India (then under Madras Presidency).[1][2][3][4]
Henry Martyn Scudder was born on 5 February 1822 at Pandatharippu, Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), into the Scudder family of missionaries in India. He was the eldest son of John Scudder Sr., the first American medical missionary to India, and grew up in a religious environment closely connected to missionary work in South Asia.[5]
Scudder was educated in the United States, graduating from the University of the City of New York in 1840, and later from Union Theological Seminary. He was ordained by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1843 and departed for India the following year.[6]
Between 1844 and 1850, Scudder served in Madura and Madras as a missionary, combining evangelistic work with medical training. During this period, he studied medicine at Madras Medical College and later earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from New York University. In 1850, he founded the American Arcot Mission in North Arcot, which became a significant center for missionary, educational, and medical activity in the region.[7]
After returning to the United States in 1864 due to declining health, Scudder served as a pastor in several cities, including San Francisco, Jersey City, Brooklyn, and Chicago. He continued his missionary involvement later in life, returning to the mission field in Japan between 1887 and 1889. He died on 4 June 1895 in Winchester, Massachusetts.[3]
