George Leslie Mackay

George Leslie Mackay ( born March 21, 1844 in Zorra, Oxford County ( Ontario ), Canada, † June 2, 1901 in Tamsui ) was the first missionary of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. He reached Taiwan, his workplace, the end of 1871, and lived there until his death.

Life

Mackay lived in Tamsui, where he undertook a mission station. He married a local woman, with whom he had three children, and learned Chinese. He traveled repeatedly in the inhabited by the indigenous territories in order to evangelize there.

Mackay established an infirmary, which further developed into a hospital, and founded the first school for girls in Taiwan at all, and the Oxford College. Establishing this college came when Mackay in 1880 after eight years returned to Canada to give an account of his work. When his compatriots learned that he taught his students in the shade of large trees, they donated more than $ 6,000 to build a school. After his return to Mackay went to work and the building was completed in 1882 under his leadership. The house is now part of a university. It is named after the Oxford County, Canada, where the money was donated for the construction.

Mackay wrote a book about Taiwan entitled " From Far Formosa ". This book gives a good insight into life in Taiwan late 19th century. There are also chapters on the flora and fauna of the island, and even the geology together with a geological map. In Taiwan, the book was reprinted three times in recent years.

Aftermath

2008 English - Taiwanese opera was staged Man about his life, entitled The Black Bearded Bible and end of November 2008 premiered at the National Chiang Kai- Shek Cultural Center in Taipei.

From the founded by Mackay Hospital where early again and again other foreign doctors worked, received a total of four Mackay Memorial Hospital forth, among other things, to care of the hitherto little cultivated in Taiwan palliative care.