Ida S. Scudder
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Dr. Ida Sophia Scudder (December 9, 1870–May 24, 1960) was a third-generation American medical missionary in India of the Reformed Church in America. She dedicated her life to the plight of Indian women and the fight against bubonic plague, cholera and leprosy. [1] In 1918 she started one of Asia's foremost Teaching hospitals, the Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore, India. 
Hear Dr. Scudder tell her own story[2]
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[edit] Early life
She was born of Dr. John Scudder Jr. and Mrs. Sophia Weld Scudder, part of a long line of medical missionary Scudders in India. She was a great-granddaughter of Rev. Dr. John Scudder, Sr.. As a child in India, she saw much famine, poverty and disease and her last idea was to spend her life in India, even though it might be the Scudder family tradition. She was invited by Dwight Moody to study at his Northfield Seminary in Massachusetts, where she earned a reputation for pranks.
Ida expected to get married and settle down in the U.S. after seminary, but in 1890 she went back to India to help her father when her mother was ailing at the mission bungalow at Tindivanam. Ida had expressed a resolve not to become a medical missionary, but during that stay, she had the enlightening experience of not being able to help 3 woman in childbirth who died needlessly in one night. That experience convinced her that God wanted her to become a Physician and return to help the women of India. She was never married.
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. She then headed back to India, fortified with a $10,000 grant from Mr. Schell, a Manhattan banker, in memory of his wife. With the money, she started a tiny medical dispensary and clinic for women at Vellore, 75 miles from Madras. Her father died in 1900, soon after she arrived in India. In two years she treated 5,000 patients. She opened the Mary Taber Schell Hospital in 1902.[3] She died at age 90, of a circulatory ailment, in Kodaikanal.[4], [5]
A stamp issued on August 12, 2000 as part of centenary celebrations of Christian Medical College depicts the college chapel, the motivating monument of the medical college and hospital, symbolising the ethos of the institution. The First-day cover portrays Dr Ida Scudder, who founded the institute in 1900, working for the medical requirements of pregnant women. [6]
[edit] See also
- The well-known Ida Scudder School in Viruthampet, Vellore is named in her honour.
- Her niece, Ida B. Scudder (1900-1995), was also an important doctor.
- Dr. Paul Brand, a noted leprosy researcher who worked with Dr. Ida at Vellore.
[edit] Biographies
- Graves Dan (2005) Glimses, issue #113, Christian History Institute, retrieved 9/8/2007Ida Scudder, A Woman Who Changed Her Mind
- Legacy and Challenge: The Story of Dr. Ida B. Scudder, published by the Scudder Association [1]
- Ida S. Scudder of Vellore: The Life Story of Ida Sophia Scudder by Dr. M. Pauline Jeffery, Wesley Press 1951
- With: Ida S. Scudder and her gleam : memorial supplement, 1960-1961, by M. Pauline Jeffery. Vellore : Christian Medical College of Vellore, 1961
- 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.
[edit] External links
- Vellore Christian Medical College and Hospital
- Vellore CMCH Ida S. Scudder page
- Vellore Christian Medical College Board (USA), Inc.
- The Scudder Association
- Ida Sophia Scudder Papers. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
[edit] References
- ^ Legacy and Challenge: The Story of Dr. Ida B. Scudder, published by the Scudder Association Legacy and Challenge
- ^ Christian medical Collere (2005)Ida S. Scudder
- ^ Graves Dan (2005) Glimses, issue #113, Christian History Institute, retrieved 9/8/2007Ida Scudder, A Woman Who Changed Her Mind Ida Scudder realized that she would be foolish to go on alone in her fight to bring better health to South India's women, so she decided to open a medical school for girls. Skeptical males said she would be lucky to get three applicants; actually she had 151 the first year (1918), and had to turn many away ever since. At first, the Reformed Church in America was the main backer of the Vellore school, but after Dr. Scudder agreed to make it coeducational, it eventually gained the support of 40 missions. Of 242 students today, 95 are men.<ref>Christian Medical College (2005)[http://www.cmch-vellore.edu/pages/?id=scudder Ida S. Scudder] ==Vellore Christian Medical Center== [[Image:Ida S Scudder.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Ida S. Scudder with Mahatma Gandhi, 1928]] In [[1928]] ground was broken for the "Hillsite" medical school campus on 200 acres (0.8 km²) about 8 kilometers west of Vellore. In 1928 [[Mahatma Gandhi]] visited the medical school and appreciated Dr. Ida's work. 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 [[2003]] the Vellore Christian Medical Center was the largest [[Christian]] hospital in the world, with 2000 beds, and its medical school is now one of the premier medical colleges in India. ==Tributes== <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:1941 CMC Vellore.jpg|thumb|left|'''Commemorative stamp<br />Christian Medical College''']] --> In [[1953]] at a sprightly 82 years old, Dr. Scudder sat in ''Hilltop'', her bungalow at [[Kodaikanal]] overlooking the Vellore Christian Medical College and its hospital, and opened a stack of letters and telegrams. Her name is a famous one in India. A letter once reached her addressed simply, "Dr. Ida, India." But the mail was heavier than usual because friends around the world were congratulating her on winning the [[Elizabeth Blackwell (doctor)|Elizabeth Blackwell]] Citation of the [[New York Eye and Ear Infirmary|New York Infirmary]], as one of five outstanding women doctors of 1952. <ref>Time Magazine (Feb. 16, 1953) A Family Tradition[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,817967,00.html?promoid=googlep]</li> <li id="cite_note-3">'''[[#cite_ref-3|^]]''' biographical information on ISS and the Scudder family, see the inventory for Ida Sophia Scudder, MC 205,Scudder, Ida Sophia, 1870-1960. Papers, 1843-1976 (inclusive), 1888-1960 (bulk) (84-M159) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Radcliffe College, February 1985 [http://oasis.harvard.edu:10080/oasis/deliver/~sch00898 Ida Scudder paperws]</li> <li id="cite_note-4">'''[[#cite_ref-4|^]]''' Notable American Women, The Modern Period (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1984).</li> <li id="cite_note-5">'''[[#cite_ref-5|^]]''' Financial Express (September 12, 2000)[http://www.financialexpress.com/fe/daily/20000912/fpe10007.html Theme stamps mark this year's Independence Day ]</li></ol></ref>
