TanjaFreese at 00:14, 13 December 2025

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{{Short description|American missionary to India (1870–1960)}}
[[Image:Ida S. Scudder 1899.jpg|thumb|Scudder in 1899]]

'''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]].<ref name=ISS/><ref>The Scudder Association [http://www.scudder.org/genealogy Scudder family genealogy site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310070638/https://scudder.org/genealogy/ |date=2016-03-10 }}</ref> In 1918, she started a [[teaching hospital]], the [[Christian Medical College & Hospital]], in [[Vellore|Vellore, India]].<ref>[[Image:Sound-icon1.png|20px]] [http://www.cmch-vellore.edu/pages/?id=scudder Hear Dr. Ida Scudder tell her own story] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070623044258/http://cmch-vellore.edu/pages/?id=scudder |date=2007-06-23 }}</ref>

==Early life==
{{See also|Scudders in India}}
Ida was born to John Scudder and Sophia (née Weld), in a line of medical missionaries that started with her grandfather, [[John Scudder Sr.]] They{{Clarify|reason=Antecedent unclear: the whole clan, Ida's line, or just her parents?|date=January 2025}} were members of the [[Reformed Church in America]]. Growing up as a child in India, Ida 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.<ref name="ISS">Wilson, Dorothy Clark. ''The Story of Dr. Ida Scudder of Vellore'', McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. [https://archive.org/stream/dridathestoryofd010071mbp/dridathestoryofd010071mbp_djvu.txt Full text] (1959), p. 18</ref> In 1890, she returned to India to help her father when her mother was ailing at the mission bungalow at [[Tindivanam]] in the [[Madras Presidency|Madras Province]]. During her stay, she witnessed three women die in childbirth in one night and resolved to go into medicine.<ref name=SAF>[https://scudder.org/about/history/india-medical-missions/ida-scudder-story/ The Scudder Association Foundation website, ''Ida Scudder Story'']</ref>

Scudder graduated from [[Weill Cornell Medical College|Cornell Medical College, New York City]], in 1899, a member 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.<ref name=SAF />

==Christian Medical College, Vellore==
[[Image:Ida S Scudder.jpg|thumb|Scudder with Mahatma Gandhi, 1928]]
Scudder opened the Mary Taber Schell Hospital in 1902.<ref>Graves Dan (2005) Glimses, issue #113, Christian History Institute, retrieved 9/8/2007 [http://www.vellorecmc.org/images/Glimpses/Glimpses.pdf ''Ida Scudder, A Woman Who Changed Her Mind''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221150941/http://www.vellorecmc.org/images/Glimpses/Glimpses.pdf|date=2007-02-21}}</ref> She decided to open a girls-only medical school and received 151 applications the first year (1918) and had to turn many away subsequently.<ref name=SAF />

In 1928, ground was broken for the "Hillsite" medical school campus on 200 acres (0.8 km<sup>2</sup>) 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 [[Christianity|Christian]] hospital in the world, with 2000 beds, and its medical school is now one of the premier medical colleges in India.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://citypatriots.com/asia/india/tamil-nadu/vellore |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-05-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707023153/http://citypatriots.com/asia/india/tamil-nadu/vellore |archive-date=2015-07-07 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> In 2023, the center was ranked the number three college by the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF).<ref>[https://www.shiksha.com/college/christian-medical-college-vellore-24644 Shiksa website, ''CMC Vellore: Admission 2024'']</ref>

The Center was later headed by Scudder's niece, [[Ida Belle Scudder]],<ref name=BU>[https://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-biography/r-s/scudder-ida-sophia-1870-1960/ Boston University website, ''Scudder, Ida Sophia (1870-1960), Medical missionary in India'']</ref><ref>[https://www.cmch-vellore.edu/Sites/Publications/Change%20agents%20-%20Ida%20B%20Scudder.pdf CMC website, ''Dr. Ida Belle Scudder (1900 - 1995)'']</ref> and fellow medical missionary [[Paul Brand (physician)|Paul Brand]] worked there for a time.<ref name=BU />

==Last years==
In 1952, Scudder received the [[Elizabeth Blackwell (doctor)|Elizabeth Blackwell Citation]] from the [[New York Eye and Ear Infirmary]], as one of 1952's five outstanding women doctors.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121018003729/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,817967,00.html?promoid=googlep "A Family Tradition"], ''Time Magazine'' (February 16, 1953)</ref>

She died on May 24, 1960, at her bungalow.<ref>Biographical information on ISS and the Scudder family, see the inventory for Ida Sophia Scudder, MC 205, Scudder, Ida S. 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 papers] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120214084532/http://oasis.harvard.edu:10080/oasis/deliver/~sch00898 |date=2012-02-14 }}</ref><ref>''Notable American Women, The Modern Period'' (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1984).</ref>

In 1960, [[Rajendra Prasad]], then President of India, hailed Scudder as a “great lady, whose dedication and planned working are exemplary”.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/This-Day-That-Age-August-13-1960/article16129272.ece|title=This Day That Age (August 13, 1960)|date=2010-08-12|work=The Hindu|access-date=2019-07-30|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==Legacy==
* The [[Ida Scudder School]] in Viruthampet, [[Vellore]], is named in her honour
*On January 9, 2020, the [[American Heritage Girls]] announced that she would be included as a Level Award namesake,<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://americanheritagegirls.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Girl-Handbook-Press-Release.pdf|title=American Heritage Girls Rolls Out New Age-Specific Girl Handbook|date=9 January 2020|access-date=8 August 2024|location=Cincinnati, Ohio|publisher=American Heritage Girls}}</ref> replacing [[Lewis and Clark]] as the Explorer Level Award namesake in their 2020 Handbook<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ahgfl3130.yolasite.com/resources/2020_AHG_Girl_Handbooks_FAQ.pdf|title=2020 AHG Girl Handbooks FAQ|publisher=American Heritage Girls|date=n.d.|access-date=8 August 2024|via=ahgfl3130.yolasite.com}}</ref><ref>[https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ce2b6cb8a4ea10001630ef1/t/62fc4466fa97a61cecf23c33/1660699751417/2022+A+Christ-Centered+Balanced+%26+Progressive.pdf SquareSpace website, ''American Heritage Girls (AHG) Program Handbook'', page 38]. Retrieved 8 August 2024.</ref><ref>[https://www.setonparish.com/american-heritage-girls Seton Parish website, ''American Heritage Girls'']. Retrieved 8 August 2024.</ref>
*A commemorative stamp was released by the [[India Post|Department of Posts]] on August 12, 2000, as part of the centenary celebrations of the Christian Medical College. The [[First day of issue|First-day cover]] portrays Dr. Ida Scudder.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/old/fe/daily/20000912/fpe10007.html|title=Theme stamps mark this year's Independence Day|last=|first=|date=September 12, 2000|website=Financial Express|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929203859/http://www.financialexpress.com/old/fe/daily/20000912/fpe10007.html|archive-date=2013-09-29|url-status=dead|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://istampgallery.com/Christian-medical-college-and-hospital-vellore-1900-2000/ |title= Christian Medical College and Hospital Vellore, 1900-2000 |author= |date= |website= Istamp Gallery |publisher= |access-date= October 22, 2025 |quote=}}</ref>

==Biographies==
* Graves Dan (2005) Glimpses, issue #113, Christian History Institute, retrieved 9/8/2007 [https://web.archive.org/web/20070221150941/http://www.vellorecmc.org/images/Glimpses/Glimpses.pdf ''Ida Scudder, A Woman Who Changed Her Mind'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060702171037/http://www.scudder.org/resources.html ''Legacy and Challenge: The Story of Dr. Ida B. Scudder''], published by the Scudder Association
*''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 language|Marathi]].

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20031128075920/http://cmch-vellore.edu/ Vellore Christian Medical College and Hospital]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20031203024229/http://cmch-vellore.edu/htm/scudder.htm Vellore CMCH Ida S. Scudder page]
*[http://www.vellorecmc.org/ Vellore Christian Medical College Board (USA), Inc.]
*[http://www.scudder.org/ The Scudder Association]
* [http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:RAD.SCHL:sch00897 Ida Sophia Scudder Papers.] [http://www.radcliffe.edu/schles Schlesinger Library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509153246/http://www.radcliffe.edu/schles |date=2012-05-09 }}, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmb-0ViZ004&t=275s 10th Ida S. Scudder Humanitarian Oration given by Azim Premji in December 2021]

==Other sources==
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=0A6ruPk7-lcC&dq=%22ida+scudder%22+kodaikanal&pg=PP1 ''From Mission to Church: The Reformed Church in America Mission to India''] By Eugene P. Heideman, Published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2001, {{ISBN|0-8028-4900-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8028-4900-7}}, 512 pages.

{{Protestant missions to India}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scudder, Ida S.}}
[[Category:American Protestant missionaries]]
[[Category:Protestant missionaries in India]]
[[Category:Weill Cornell Medical College alumni]]
[[Category:1870 births]]
[[Category:1960 deaths]]
[[Category:Female Christian missionaries]]
[[Category:Christian medical missionaries]]
[[Category:Northfield Mount Hermon School alumni]]
[[Category:American missionaries in India]]
[[Category:American medical missionaries]]

Ida S. Scudder - Revision history

TanjaFreese at 00:14, 13 December 2025