Ida Sophia Scudder (December 9, 1870 – May 24, 1960) was a third-generation American medical missionary in India. She sought to improve the plight of Indian women by fighting against bubonic plague, cholera and leprosy. In 1918, she started a teaching hospital, the Christian Medical College & Hospital, in Vellore, India.

Early life

Ida was born to John Scudder and Sophia (née Weld), part of a line of medical missionaries that started with her grandfather, John Scudder Sr. They were members of the Reformed Church in America. Growing up as a child in India, she witnessed famine, poverty and disease. She was invited by Dwight Moody to study at his Northfield Seminary in Massachusetts, where she earned a reputation for pranks. In 1890, she returned to India to help her father when her mother was ailing at the mission bungalow at Tindivanam in the Madras Province. During her stay, she witnessed three women die in childbirth in one night and resolved to go into medicine. Scudder graduated from Cornell Medical College, New York City in 1899, as part of the first class that accepted women as medical students. She then headed back to India and 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.

Christian Medical College, Vellore

Scudder opened the Mary Taber Schell Hospital in 1902. She decided to open a medical school for girls only and received 151 applications the first year (1918) and had to turn many away subsequently. In 1928, ground was broken for the "Hillsite" medical school campus on 200 acres (0.8 km2) at Bagayam, Vellore. In 1928, Mahatma Gandhi visited the medical school. Scudder traveled a number of times to the United States to raise funds for the college and hospital. 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. In 2023, the center was ranked number three college by the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF). The Center was later headed by Scudder's niece, Ida Belle Scudder and fellow medical missionary Paul Brand worked there for a time.

Last years

In 1952, Scudder received the Elizabeth Blackwell Citation from the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, as one of 1952's five outstanding women doctors. She died on May 23, 1960 at her bungalow. In 1960, Rajendra Prasad, then President of India, hailed Scudder as a “great lady, whose dedication and planned working are exemplary”.

Legacy

Biographies

Other sources