Frederick Victor Nanka-Bruce (9 October 1878 – 13 July 1953) was a physician, journalist and politician in the Gold Coast. He was the third African to practise orthodox medicine in the colony, after Benjamin Quartey-Papafio and Ernest James Hayford.

Early life and family

Frederick Victor Bruce was the scion of two prominent Ga families; his mother was Christiana Reindorf and his father, Alexander Bruce, was an

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

merchant. The Bruces were from James Town or British Accra, while the Reindorfs were from Danish Accra or Osu. His father was a descendant of a prominent Ga trader named Robert William Wallace Bruce, while his mother was a relative of the

Basel Mission The Basel Mission is a Christianity, Christian missionary society based in Switzerland. It was active from 1815 to 2001, when it transferred the operative work to , the successor organization of ''Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione'' ...

catechist, later pastor and historian, Carl Christian Reindorf. Bruce appended "Nanka" in honour of his ancestor, Robert William Wallace Bruce, who was also known as Nii Nanka. Nanka-Bruce was educated at the Government School in Accra and at the Wesleyan Boys' High School in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

. After an apprenticeship to a dispenser in Accra, he was a member of the 1900 Kumasi Expedition - besieged in

Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...

Fort with the Governor, Frederick Hodgson, until the expedition managed to break through the Ashanti lines to the coast."F. V. Nanka-Bruce, O.B.E., M.B., Ch.B.", ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

'', 1 August 1953, p. 289. In 1901 he travelled to study medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, graduating in 1906 with an MB ChB. He worked at the

London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and London Borough of Tow ...

before returning to Accra in 1907.

Political career

Nanka-Bruce built up a private medical practice in Accra, and was a government adviser on

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

. In 1918 he founded ''The Gold Coast Independent'' newspaper. He was elected to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

representing the Accra Ratepayers' Association in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, serving until 1935 and again from

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

to 1950.Michael R. Doortmont, ''The Pen-Pictures of Modern Africans and African Celebrities by Charles Francis Hutchison: A Collective Biography of Elite Society in the Gold Coast Colony'', Brill, 2005, p. 148. In 1950, the Ratepayers' Association became part of the National Democratic Party, with Nanka-Bruce serving as the party's chairman. He was awarded the

O.B.E. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1935. In 1933 he was a co-founder and the first president of the Gold Coast Medical Practitioners Union, and in 1951 a co-founder and first president of the Ghana branch of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

; after Nanka-Bruce's death the two organisations would merge to form the

Ghana Medical Association The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) represents physicians, surgeons and dentists working throughout Ghana. It was established in 1958 and is divided into ten divisions representing each region of Ghana as at the end of 2018. History The earliest ...

. From 1952 to 1953, he served as chairman of the Board of Governors of the

Accra Academy Accra Academy is a Single-sex education, boys' high school located at Bubuashie near Kaneshie in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. It admits both boarding and day students. Founded as a private school in 1931, it gained the status of a Government ...

. His sister Florence, and after her early death another sister Emma, married Thomas Hutton-Mills, Sr. He died 13 July 1953.Doortmont gives the date as 3 July 1951. His descendants still live in Accra and include the Ghanaian disc jockey William Nanka-Bruce and CEO of Ga Mantse Foundation NeeLante Bruce.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nanka-Bruce, Frederick Victor 1878 births 1953 deaths Ghanaian public health doctors Ghanaian journalists 20th-century Ghanaian politicians Bruce family (Ghana) Ghanaian people of Scottish descent Ga-Adangbe people People of the War of the Golden Stool Officers of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Medical doctors from Gold Coast (British colony) Journalists from Gold Coast (British colony) Politicians from Gold Coast (British colony)