Ida S. Scudder
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Dr. Ida Sophia Scudder (December 9, 1870–May 24, 1960) was a medical missionary to India and the founder of the Vellore Christian Medical Center in Vellore, India.
She was born of Dr. John Scudder II and Mrs. Sophia Weld Scudder, part of a long line of medical missionary Scudders. She was invited by Dwight Moody to study at his Northfield Seminary, where she earned a reputation for pranks.
While Ida had expressed a resolve not to become a medical missionary, she returned to India to help her father when her mother was sick. During that stay, in 1890, she had an extraordinary experience that convinced her that God wanted her to become a doctor and return to help the women of India.
She graduated from Cornell Medical College in New York City in 1899, as part of the first class at that school that accepted women as medical students. After graduating, she received a grant of $10,000 from a Mr. Schell in memory of his wife. She opened a medical dispensary in Vellore in 1900 and opened the Mary Taber Schell Hospital in 1902.
In July 1918 she opened a medical school for women, with 17 students. In 1928 ground was broken for the "Hillsite" medical school campus on 200 acres (0.8 km²) about 8 kilometers west of Vellore. She traveled a number of times to the United States to raise funds for the college and hospital, raising a total in the millions. In 1945 the college was opened to men as well as women.
In 1928 Mahatma Gandhi visited medical school and appreciated Dr. Ida's work.
In 2003 the Vellore Christian Medical Center hospital was the largest Christian hospital in the world, with 2000 beds, and its medical school was one of premier medical colleges in India.
Dr. Paul Brand, noted leprosy researcher, worked with Dr. Ida at Vellore.
Her niece was also an important doctor, Ida B. Scudder (1900-1995).
The well-known Ida Scudder School in Viruthampet, Vellore is named in her honour.
[edit] Biographies
- Dr. Ida S. Scudder of Vellore, India by Dr. M. Pauline Jeffery 1950
- Dr. Ida by Dorothy Clarke Wilson 1959
- The Doctor Who Never Gave Up by Carolyn Scott 1975
- A Thousand Years In Thy Sight by Dorothy Jealous Scudder (1984) Chapters 25-27
- Ida Scudder: Healing Bodies Touching Hearts by Janet Benge and Geoff Benge 2003
- Dr. Ida Skudder by Veena Gavhankar, Raj Hans Prakashan, 1983 Marathi.
