Arthur Colborne Lankester (1868-1963) worked for the Church Missionary Services (CMS) and took station in Punjab, India and Sindh, Pakistan. Lankester was a religiously motivated medical missionary who developed mitigation techniques for tuberculosis that are still in place today.
Early Life
Family
Lankester was born in Leicester, United Kingdom as the child of Henry Lankester and Rachel Crosby Squire. He married Alice Grace Fox in 1899, the sister of Rev. George Townshend Fox (clergyman and missionary in Northern Nigeria 1907-1912). Alice Grace Fox gave birth to Stephen Lankester in 1917, Lankester's only son.
Education
At age 22, Lankester earned Membership of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons and became a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians from the St. Thomas Hospital. One year later, he earned his Bachelor of Medicine degree from from the University of London in 1891. During his time at the University of London, Lankester developed an interest in doing medical work abroad. Following this, he became a house surgeon at the St. Thomas Hospital until October 8th, 1891 when he began missionary work in Punjab.
Medical Mission
Overview
Lankester operated within the Amritsar Medical Mission. Originally, this mission launched schools and aimed to evangelize residents in Punjab. However, when Lankester began his missionary work 40 years later, he transformed it into a medically focused mission. He aimed to spread the Gospel while performing his medical duties, treating conditions such as cataracts and general sickness. The Indian government also tasked him with mitigatating tuberculosis.
Dr. H.M. Clark
Lankester worked closely with Dr. H.M. Clark. Dr. Clark focused primarily on the spread and treatment of Malaria. As such, Lankester studied insects and their ability to spread disease along with Dr. Clark.