Isabella Kerr (née Gunn; 30 May 1875 – 12 January 1932) was a Scottish

medical missionary Medical missions is the term used for Christian missionary endeavors that involve the administration of medical treatment. As has been common among missionary efforts from the 18th to 20th centuries, medical missions often involves residents of th ...

who worked in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in the early 20th-century. She created the Victoria Leprosy Centre in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. She worked to cure

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 ...

in India.

Early life and education

Isabella Kerr was born in Gollachy, Enzie in

Banffshire Banffshire (; ; ) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been spli ...

(now

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

), Scotland on 30 May 1875. Her parents were Mary Garden and John Bain Gunn, a farmer. Kerr studied medicine at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

receiving her

MB ChB A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

in 1903.

Career

Kerr met and married the Reverend George McGlashan Kerr, a former

joiner Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

, who had returned from being a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

. They married in 1903, and worked together in England until the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society sent the Kerrs to

in India in 1907. At their mission, Kerr and her husband worked on unrelated tasks, but they both realised that the treatment of patients with

was inadequate. In 1911, Kerr opened a leprosy centre at the mission in

Nizamabad, Telangana Nizamabad, District city in the Indian state of Telangana. It is governed by the municipal corporation and is the headquarters of the Nizamabad district. Previously part of Hyderabad State and then Andhra Pradesh state, Nizamabad became a part ...

, but in time, it attracted more patients than it could accommodate. With financial assistance from Raja Narsa Goud (Narsagoud), a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

philanthropist, who helped them receive a donation from the

Nizam of Hyderabad Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I wh ...

Mir Osman Ali Khan Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (5 or 6 April 1886 – 24 February 1967) was the last Nizam (ruler) of Hyderabad State, the largest state in the erstwhile Indian Empire. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of 25 and rule ...

, the last local ruler, to help build the Victoria Treatment Hospital on land the ruler donated at Dichpally, and in 1915, this larger and more permanent facility opened. By the early 1920s, the hospital had grown to more than 120 buildings. Kerr worked with Ernest Muir who had piloted the use of hydnocarpus oil (

chaulmoogra ''Hydnocarpus pentandrus'' (previously ''Hydnocarpus wightianus'') or chaulmoogra is a medium-sized tree in the family Achariaceae. This dioecious tree grows up to 10m height, in moist deciduous forests of Western Ghats in India. ''Hydnocarpu ...

tree) to treat leprosy, based on earlier research by

Leonard Rogers Sir Leonard Rogers (18 January 1868 – 16 September 1962) was a founder member of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and its President from 1933 to 1935. Biography Rogers studied at Plymouth College and worked at St Mary's H ...

, who began the British Empire Leprosy Relief Association. The Kerrs' centre at Dichpally was seen as leading the campaign against leprosy, and Kerr's writing helped make this the standard treatment throughout India. Kerr and her husband were awarded

Kaisar-i-Hind Medal The Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for Public Service in India was a medal awarded by the Emperor/Empress of India between 1900 and 1947, to "any person without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex ... who shall have distinguished himself (o ...

s in 1923.

Death and legacy

Kerr died suddenly in 1932. In her obituary it was said that 'Her medical skill and her devotion to the cause of the leper, together with her modest reserve and womanly charm, won her innumerable friends both in India and at home.' Her husband remained in India until 1938 when he retired to Scotland. In the 1960s, the leprosy centre that she founded had over 400 patients.Victoria Leprosy Hospital (Dichpali / Dichpalli)
LeprosyHistory, Retrieved 13 March 2017 The papers of Kerr and her husband are held in

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 ...

.Papers of George McGlashan Kerr and Isabel Kerr
International Leprosy Association, Retrieved 13 April 2017

Awards and honours

, 1923

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Isabel 1875 births 1932 deaths 20th-century Scottish medical doctors 20th-century Scottish women medical doctors Recipients of the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal Christian medical missionaries University of Adelaide alumni Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Wesleyan Methodists Scottish Methodist missionaries Methodist missionaries in India Female Christian missionaries