Chung, Margaret, 1889-1959

Margaret Chung was born in 1890 in Santa Barbara, California. Her parents were both native-born Chinese who, when they were very young, came to America with their parents. They were devout Christians who insisted their children practice daily prayers and attend church twice every Sunday. Margaret Chung grew up on a 24,000-acre ranch in Ventura County where her father was the foreman. As a child, she explored every aspect of the outdoor life on the ranch with her inquisitive mind and endless energy, often riding horseback along with the ranch hands to mend fences and herd cattle. She was the eldest of eleven children and played a major role in the upbringing of her brothers and sisters.

With sheer determination, Chung pursued her ambition in the medical field. She won a scholarship to college by selling a large number of subscriptions for the Los Angeles Times, and graduated from the University of Southern California, College of Physicians and Surgeons. Her first choice was to serve as a medical missionary, but she was barred because of her Chinese nationality. Chung interned at hospitals in Los Angeles and Chicago and then became staff resident at the State Hospital for the Insane in Kankakee, Illinois, where a well-known Chicago criminologist recognized her brilliance and compassionate understanding of mental disorders. With him, she established Chicago's first juvenile psychopathic institute. At 26 years of age, Chung was appointed criminologist for the State of Illinois, but she disliked the nature of this position because life or death decisions depended on a criminal's sanity or insanity. She preferred to cure people and to concentrate on surgical cases.

At this time her father died unexpectedly, leaving her to struggle with the responsibility of raising her six young siblings. Upon returning to California, Chung was hired as staff surgeon at the Santa Fe Railroad Hospital in Los Angeles and became experienced with industrial accident cases which led to her specialization in plastic surgery. She built up a private practice that included many Hollywood celebrities and film industry executives.

After Chung's first visit to San Francisco, California in 1923, she was immediately attracted to Chinatown and the possibility of serving the Chinese people. She became not only the first American doctor in Chinatown, but also the first woman to practice modern medicine in Chinatown. Through perseverance, Chung was able to prove her medical skills and she eventually gained the confidence of the Chinese people who previously solely depended on herbal doctors.

When the Japanese attacked China in 1931, Chung wanted to give her medical services to China, but authorities felt she would better serve its cause by her work in the United States. At that time, seven flyers approached the famous Chinese-American physician to offer their services to China, knowing Chung's deep interests in both aviation and China. She, in turn, advised them to stay in America where they would also be needed. The flyers formed a club with Chung in which they became "adopted sons" and she became their "Mom." During World War II, the club grew to thousands of military men and women, including some of the highest ranking officers. She received large volumes of correspondence from them and she reciprocated with letters of enthusiastic support and with thoughtful gifts. Chung also supported women during World War II through her persistence in the creation of the Women's U.S. Naval Reserve (WAVES). She served tirelessly in the war effort and in giving aid to China through her medical practice, through the lecture circuit, and through countless other activities. In 1945, Catholic Bishop Paul Yu-Pin presented Chung with the "People's Medal" of the Chinese government.

Throughout her life, Chung was surrounded by numerous admirers from all walks of life. She felt comfortable on opening night at a performance in a white ermine coat with a caged parakeet dangling from her wrist or at home in a gingham apron cooking spare-ribs by the bushelful for her "adopted sons" and their families or convincing Chinese patients of the importance of milk for its high calcium content. She was a humanitarian and patriot and proud to be a symbol of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples. Margaret Chung died at the age of sixty-nine after a long illness.