Parker, Peter, 1804-1888

Peter Parker, medical missionary and diplomat to China, was born in Framingham, Massachusetts in 1804. His parents were farmers and devout followers of the orthodox Congregational faith. After graduation from Yale College in 1831, Parker studied both theology and medicine and was awarded an M.D. from Yale in 1834. In January of the same year he was ordained to the Presbyterian ministry in Philadelphia and departed a month after for Canton as the first Protestant medical missionary to China. With assistance from American and British benefactors, he opened in 1835 the Ophthalmic Hospital at Canton. Parker specialized in treating diseases of the eyes, especially cataracts, but also performed general surgery including the removal of large tumors. He is probably best known for the introduction of anesthesia to China, employing sulphuric ether. With the onset of the Opium War (1840-1842), Parker returned to America, where he sought financial support for his hospital and married Harriet Colby Webster in 1841. In 1842, Parker resumed his medical practice at Canton and became involved in diplomatic relations between America and China. In 1844 he served under Caleb Cushing, U.S. Attorney General, and assisted in negotiating the first treaty between the two countries. Due to a prolonged illness, Parker returned to the United States in 1855 only to sail back to China later that year as the American Commissioner and Minister to China. Parker settled in Washington D.C. in 1857, where he became active in organizations such as the Evangelical Alliance for the United States of America and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as in the medical community. He died in January 1888.

Peter Parker, medical missionary and diplomat to China, was born in Framingham, Massachusetts on June 18, 1804. His parents were farmers and devout followers of the orthodox Congregational faith. He attended Amherst College and then transferred to Yale College in 1830. After graduation in 1831, Parker studied both theology and medicine and was awarded an M.D. from Yale in 1834. In January 1834 he was ordained to the Presbyterian ministry in Philadelphia and, under the auspices of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, he departed a month later for Canton as the first Protestant medical missionary to China. With assistance from American and British benefactors, he opened in 1835 the Ophthalmic Hospital at Canton. Parker specialized in treating diseases of the eyes, especially cataracts, but also performed general surgery including the removal of large tumors, and lithotomies. In 1847, he became the first physician to introduce anesthesia to China. With the onset of the Opium War (1840-1842), Parker returned to America in 1840, where he sought financial support for his hospital in the United States and Europe. In Washington, D.C., he met with goverment officials and urged the sending of an envoy to China. He met and married Harriet Colby Webster in 1841. In 1842, Parker resumed his medical missionary practice at Canton and became involved in diplomatic relations between America and China. In 1844 he served as translator and assistant under Caleb Cushing, U.S. Attorney General, and participtated in negotiating the first treaty between the two countries, the Treaty of Wanghia. Dismissed by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1847 because the Board doubted the utility of medical missionaries, Parker continued his hospital until 1855 while acting as a part-time member of the American Legation. Due to a prolonged illness, Parker returned to the United States in 1855 only to sail back to China later that year as American Commissioner to China. Recalled by the U.S. government in 1857, Parker and his wife settled inWashington, D.C., where he was active in organizations such as the Evangelical Alliance for the United States of America, the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, and the medical community. He died on January 10, 1888.