The Frigates

James Henderson

James Henderson, M.D. (1829–1865) was a British physician, surgeon, and author. After attending a meeting of the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society on 18 December 1856, he decided to become a medical missionary. In these early years of his medical missionary work training, Henderson evidently displayed his religious values by emphasizing the importance for students who were studying medicine at the time to become Christians and medical missionaries. During his time in Edinburgh Medical School, he was described as being a “uniformly regular, punctual, and diligent; conscientious, zealous, and laborious; kind to the poor, and self-denying [student].” Starting his notable medical missionary work in the mid-nineteenth century, Henderson worked in the London Missionary Society, where he took charge of the Chinese Hospital, which is called Renji Hospital. Henderson played a critical role in educating about surgical techniques, sanitation, and chloroform as well as making overall improvements in the hospital and surrounding environment.