Carl K. Becker (1894–1990) was an American doctor and missionary. He left a profitable medical practice in

Boyertown, Pennsylvania Boyertown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ) is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,264 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History A post office call ...

to join the

Africa Inland Mission Established in 1895, Africa Inland Mission (AIM) is a Christian mission sending agency focused on Africa. Their stated mission is to see "Christ-centered churches established among all African peoples." AIM established the Kapsowar Hospital in 1 ...

in 1929. By 1934 he had set up his own mission station in the

Ituri Rainforest The Ituri Rainforest ( French: ''Forêt tropicale de l’Ituri'') is a rainforest located in the Ituri Province of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The forest's name derives from the nearby Ituri River which flows through the ra ...

in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

. Becker was

medical resident Residency or postgraduate training is a stage of graduate medical education. It refers to a qualified physician (one who holds the degree of MD, DO, MBBS/MBChB), veterinarian ( DVM/VMD, BVSc/BVMS), dentist ( DDS or DMD), podiatrist ( DPM), o ...

of the mission's hospital, carried out more than 3,000 operations and delivered hundreds of babies each year. He was the first in

Equatorial Africa Equatorial Africa is an ambiguous term that sometimes is used to refer to the equatorial region of sub-Saharan Africa traversed by the Equator, more broadly to tropical Africa, or in a biological and geo-environmental sense to the intra-tropic ...

to use

electric shock therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment that causes a generalized seizure by passing electrical current through the brain. ECT is often used as an intervention for mental disorders when other treatments are inadequate. Condit ...

for the treatment of psychiatric disorders and his

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

village attracted specialists from across the world. He was briefly evacuated during the 1964 Simba rebellion and returned to the United States upon his retirement in 1976.

Biography

Carl K. Becker was born in Manheim, Pennsylvania, in 1894. His family were Christian and occasionally suffered from poverty. Becker studied at Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia and after being awarded his degree established a medical practice in Boyertown. Although Becker's medical practice was flourishing, he volunteered to serve as a missionary for the

in 1929. He and his wife, Marie, left for Africa later that year and in 1934 set up their own mission station among the pgymy peoples of the

. He served as the only

of the Oicha hospital and performed in excess of 3,000 operations there. Becker delivered hundreds of babies each year and was the first doctor in

to successfully use

for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Becker specialised in the treatment of leprosy and specialists visited from around the world to study his research and observe his leprosy village that treated 4,000 patients. He continued to respond to emergency medical call-outs up to the age of 70. Becker was also an evangelist preacher and used crudely drawn scenes to teach bible stories in the local villages. He was evacuated from Oicha in 1964 during the Simba rebellion but returned the next year to rebuild his mission, which had been badly damaged by guerilla fighters. A biography of Becker was written in 1967 and the American writer

Art Buchwald Arthur Buchwald (; October 20, 1925 – January 17, 2007) was an American humorist best known for his column in ''The Washington Post''. At the height of his popularity, it was published nationwide as a syndicated column in more than 500 newspape ...

compared him to the great humanitarian

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...

and said that Becker had made the greatest impression on him of any man he met in Africa, while one of his African medical trainees said that "Many missionaries had preached

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

to me, but in the ''munganga'' octorI have seen Jesus Christ." Becker retired in 1976 and moved back to the United States with his wife. He died in 1990.

References

{{Protestant missions to Africa 1894 births 1990 deaths People from Manheim, Pennsylvania American Protestant missionaries Physicians from Pennsylvania Drexel University alumni Protestant missionaries in the Democratic Republic of the Congo American expatriates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo