Missionary and Physician. Dan Beach Bradley was a Presbyterian missionary to Siam, serving with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) and ministering in Siam from 1835 until his death in 1873. He was born in Marcellus, New York to the Hon. Dan Bradley and his wife Eunice Beach. Growing up during the Second Great Awakening, he was influenced by the religious sentiments of the day and became determined to serve as a medical missionary. To this end, he studied medicine in New York City at the College of Physicians and Surgeons. In April of 1833 he graduated with his MD degree, and the following year he married fellow aspiring missionary Emilie Royce. They departed for Siam, under the auspices of the ABCFM, in July of 1834 after the wedding. Six months later they landed in Singapore, where they spent some time before at last arriving in Bangkok in July 1835, beginning their missionary work. His wife passed away of tuberculosis a decade later. Soon thereafter, he began advocating the doctrine of Christian Perfectionism, which holds that human beings can attain freedom from sin during their lifetimes. This was antithetical to the tenets of the ABCFM, who demanded that he return to the US. But he resigned from the ABCFM in December 1847 and continued his work independently, but with help from the American Missionary Association (AMA). On a fundraising trip to the US, he met Sarah Blachly; they married in October 1848. A year later they departed together for Bangkok, and he resumed his work in May 1850. But Siam was (and is) a deeply Buddhist country, and his attempts to spread the Gospel fell on deaf ears. But his contributions were manifold: he introduced the first Thai-language printing press to the country, creating the first Thai newspaper--the Bangkok Recorder--and the first Thai dictionary. He maintained superb relations with the Siamese kings Rama IV and V. And perhaps most importantly of all, he was instrumental in introducing advanced medical practices from the West, including smallpox vaccination. He died aged 68, highly honored and respected.
Missionary and Physician. Dan Beach Bradley was a Presbyterian missionary to Siam, serving with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) and ministering in Siam from 1835 until his death in 1873. He was born in Marcellus, New York to the Hon. Dan Bradley and his wife Eunice Beach. Growing up during the Second Great Awakening, he was influenced by the religious sentiments of the day and became determined to serve as a medical missionary. To this end, he studied medicine in New York City at the College of Physicians and Surgeons. In April of 1833 he graduated with his MD degree, and the following year he married fellow aspiring missionary Emilie Royce. They departed for Siam, under the auspices of the ABCFM, in July of 1834 after the wedding. Six months later they landed in Singapore, where they spent some time before at last arriving in Bangkok in July 1835, beginning their missionary work. His wife passed away of tuberculosis a decade later. Soon thereafter, he began advocating the doctrine of Christian Perfectionism, which holds that human beings can attain freedom from sin during their lifetimes. This was antithetical to the tenets of the ABCFM, who demanded that he return to the US. But he resigned from the ABCFM in December 1847 and continued his work independently, but with help from the American Missionary Association (AMA). On a fundraising trip to the US, he met Sarah Blachly; they married in October 1848. A year later they departed together for Bangkok, and he resumed his work in May 1850. But Siam was (and is) a deeply Buddhist country, and his attempts to spread the Gospel fell on deaf ears. But his contributions were manifold: he introduced the first Thai-language printing press to the country, creating the first Thai newspaper--the Bangkok Recorder--and the first Thai dictionary. He maintained superb relations with the Siamese kings Rama IV and V. And perhaps most importantly of all, he was instrumental in introducing advanced medical practices from the West, including smallpox vaccination. He died aged 68, highly honored and respected.
Bio by: Chris Nelson
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