Peter Parker (1804 – 1888) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physicianA physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury...
and a
missionaryA missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who proselytizes. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus A missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith;...
who traveled extensively in
Qing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912...
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
.
Parker was born in
Framingham, MassachusettsFramingham is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 66,910 at the 2000 census.Framingham, sited on the ancient trail known as the Old Connecticut Path, was first settled when John Stone settled on the west bank of the Sudbury River in 1647...
in 1804 to an orthodox
CongregationalCongregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
family. His parents were
farmerA farmer is a person who raises living organisms for food or raw materials.- Definition :The term farmer usually applies to a person who grows field crops, and/or manages orchards or vineyards, or raises livestock or poultry such as chicken and cows...
s. Parker received a
B.A.Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences or both....
degree from
Yale UniversityYale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five...
in 1831, and his
M.D.The Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians...
degree from the Yale Medical School, then called Medical Institution of Yale College, in 1834. In January 1834, he completed his theological studies at Yale and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister.
In February 1834, Parker traveled to
CantonCanton in China may refer to:* Canton City : Guangzhou, traditional English name used in most documents.* Canton Province : Guangdong, of which Guangzhou is the capital and the largest city. This usage is rare and was not documented in major lexica of the English language. When used, it must be...
, where he had the distinction of being the first full-time Protestant medical missionary to China. In 1835, he opened in that city the Ophthalmic Hospital. Parker specialized in diseases of the eye, including
cataractA cataract is a clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its envelope, varying in degree from slight to complete opacity and obstructing the passage of light...
s, and also resected
tumorA tumor or tumour is the name for a swelling or lesion formed by an abnormal growth of cells . Tumor is not synonymous with cancer. A tumor can be benign, pre-malignant or malignant, whereas cancer is by definition malignant....
s. Parker also introduced Western
anesthesiaAnesthesia, or anaesthesia , has traditionally meant the condition of having sensation blocked or temporarily taken away. This allows patients to undergo surgery and other procedures without the distress and pain they would otherwise experience...
in the form of sulphuric ether. He served as president of the
Medical Missionary Society of ChinaThe Medical Missionary Society in China was a Protestant medical missionary society established in Canton, China, in 1838. The first work of the society was to support the ophthalmic hospital in Canton run by Dr. Peter Parker, a medical missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign...
after his mentor
Thomas Richardson ColledgeThomas Richardson Colledge was a Scottish surgeon with the East India Company at Guangzhou who served part-time as the first medical missionary in China. In 1837 he founded and served as the first president of the Medical Missionary Society of China.-Life:Colledge was born in 1796, and received...
.
In 1844, Parker worked as
Caleb CushingCaleb Cushing was an American statesman and diplomat who served as a U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts and Attorney General under President Franklin Pierce.-Early life:...
's main interpreter during the negotiations of the
Treaty of WanghiaThe Treaty of Wanghia , is a diplomatic agreement between the Qing Dynasty of China and the United States, signed on 3 July 1844 in the Kun Iam Temple...
with the Qing Empire. The treaty stipulated that it could be renegotiated after 12 years and in 1856, president
Franklin PierceFranklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857, an American politician and lawyer. To date, he is the only President from New Hampshire....
sent Parker to China in order to revise the treaty and gain more concessions from the Qing Empire, but was eventually unsuccessful in this endeavor.
Lam Qua Portraits
While in China, Parker also met with
Lam QuaLam Qua , or real name, Guan Qiaochang or Kwan Kiu Cheong was a Western-trained Chinese painter from Guangdong Province of Qing Dynasty China. Lam Qua was the first Chinese portrait painter to be exhibited in the West and is best known for his medical portraiture...
, a Western-trained Chinese painter. Parker commissioned Lam Qua to paint patients at the Canton Hospital with large tumors or other major deformities. Some of the paintings are part of a collection of Lam Qua's work held by the
Peter Parker Collection at the
Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical LibraryThe Harvey Cushing and John Hay Whitney Medical Library is the central library of the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. Previously known as the Yale Medical Library, it is one of the finest modern medical libraries...
at Yale University. Parker left these portraits to the Pathology Department of the Yale Medical School, which later gave them to the Library.
External links