Nathaniel Thomas King (14 July 1847 – 12 June 1884) was one of the earliest western-trained

West African West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ma ...

doctors to practise medicine in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Life

King was born in

Hastings, Sierra Leone Hastings is a town in the Western Area Rural District of Sierra Leone. The town had a population of 15,054 (2004 census) and lies approximately 15 miles east of Freetown, the capital of the country. Hastings is twinned with Hastings, UK. Notabl ...

, to the Yoruba family of Reverend Thomas and Mary King. His father was a catechist of the Church Missionary Society who assisted

Ajayi Crowther Samuel Ajayi Crowther ( – 31 December 1891) was a Yoruba linguist, clergyman, and the first African Anglican bishop of West Africa. Born in Osogun (in what is now Ado-Awaye, Oyo State, Nigeria), he and his family were captured by Fulani sl ...

in translating the Bible to Yoruba. In 1850, his father moved to the Yoruba mission in

Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State located at the south western part of Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokut ...

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It is bordered to the south by Lagos State and the Bight of Benin, to the east by Ondo State, and to the north by Oyo and Osun states while its western border forms part of the national borde ...

, and the family went along with him. In 1861, the young King was recommended by Henry Venn as one of the four students to be trained at a

Church Mission Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...

(CMS) pre-medical training program under Dr. A. A. Harrison, a

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

-trained doctor. However, Harrison died in 1865 and Venn recommended King to

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-le ...

Ajayi (1965), p. 162. to continue his studies. While in

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

, he also worked in the colonial hospital. King later went to

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, with sponsorship from his uncle, Henry Robbin, and CMS. King obtained his MRCS from King's College and his medical degree from

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 ...

and

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 ...

in 1876. He returned to Nigeria and was involved in developing modern medical practice in the country. In Nigeria, he promoted environmental sanitation, acted as an examiner for

CMS Grammar School, Lagos The CMS Grammar School in Bariga, a suburb of Lagos in Lagos State, is the oldest secondary school in Nigeria, founded on 6 June 1859 by the Church Missionary Society. For decades it was the main source of African clergymen and administrators in ...

, and Wesley College and he was also a trust member of th
Rebecca Hussey fund for Africans
. He died in 1884 at the young age of 37.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Nathaniel 19th-century Nigerian medical doctors 19th-century Sierra Leonean physicians Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fourah Bay College alumni Sierra Leonean people of Yoruba descent Sierra Leone Creole people Sierra Leonean emigrants to Nigeria People from colonial Nigeria People from Western Area Rural District 1847 births 1884 deaths