James Churchill Omosanya Vaughan Jr.,

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

(30 May 1893 – 1937) was a Nigerian doctor and a prominent political activist.

Birth and education

Vaughan was born 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 ...

on 30 May 1893, the son of James Wilson Vaughan, who descended from the 19th century American artisan Scipio Vaughan and through whom he also had

Catawba Catawba may refer to: *Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas *Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family *Catawban languages Botany *Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other ...

ancestry. His father was a prosperous Lagos Yoruba merchant. He was among the first set of scholars at

King's College, Lagos King's College, Lagos (KCL) is a secondary school in Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was founded on 20 September 1909 with 10 students at Lagos Island, adjacent to Tafawa Balewa Square. The school admits only boys as pupils, although prior to ...

when it was founded in 1909. Vaughan and

Isaac Ladipo Oluwole Isaac Ladipo Oluwole (1892–1953) was a Nigerian medical doctor who made important improvements to the public health services in Nigeria. Early years Isaac Ladipo Oluwole was born around 1892, son of the Anglican bishop Isaac Oluwole and Abiga ...

were the two first Nigerian students at the University of Glasgow, studying medicine there from 1913 to 1918, when they graduated with medical degrees. The two students were subject to racial prejudice. In the program for the final dinner in 1918, Vaughan was given an epithet after

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

's "The Twa Dogs", likening him to a foreign born dog, "whalpit some place far abroad".

Career

Returning to Nigeria in the early 1920s, Vaughan set up a private clinic. He also provided free medical services for the destitute. Vaughan attempted with little success to collate the works of the pioneering Nigerian doctor

Oguntola Sapara Chief Oguntola Odunbaku Sapara M.D. (9 June 1861 – June 1935) was a Yoruba doctor, originally from Sierra Leone, who spent most of his career and life in Nigeria. He was best known for his campaign against smallpox. Early life and education ...

, who had taken a special interest in traditional herbal medicines, but had left only fragmentary records of his researches. Vaughan became an outspoken critic of the British Colonial Administration, and in 1934 was one of the founders of the Lagos Youth Movement along with other leading activists including Dr

Kofo Abayomi Oloye Sir Kofoworola Adekunle "Kofo" Abayomi, KBE (10 July 1896 – 1 January 1979) was a Nigerian politician who was one of the founders of the nationalist group, the Nigerian Youth Movement, in 1934 and went on to have a distinguished public s ...

, Hezekiah Oladipo Davies,

Ernest Sissei Ikoli Ernest Sissei Ikoli (1893–1960) was a Nigerian politician, nationalist and pioneering journalist. He was the first editor of the Daily Times, the president of the Nigerian Youth Movement, and in 1942, represented Lagos in the Legislative Council ...

, and Samuel Akinsanya. Vaughan was the first president of the movement. The Lagos Youth Movement originally had improvement of higher education as its goal, but within four years had become the most influential nationalist organization in the country. It was renamed the Nigerian Youth Movement in 1936 to emphasize its pan-Nigerian objectives. One of the early issues was the curriculum of medical teaching at the

Yaba Higher College Yaba Higher College was founded in 1932 in Yaba, Lagos, Yaba, now a suburb of Lagos in Nigeria to provide tertiary education to Africans, mostly in vocational subjects and teaching. The college staff were transferred to start the University Colleg ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan James Churchill Nigerian activists 1893 births 1937 deaths King's College, Lagos alumni Physicians from Lagos 20th-century Nigerian people 20th-century Nigerian medical doctors People from colonial Nigeria Yoruba physicians Yoruba activists History of Lagos James Churchill Nigerian nationalists Yoruba politicians 20th-century Nigerian politicians Alumni of the University of Glasgow Medical School People of Catawba descent