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John Anderson Graham (8 September 1861 – 1942) was a Scottish vicar and the first missionary from Young Men's Guild sent to North Eastern Himalayan region Kalimpong—then in British Sikkim (Colonial British name), currently in West Bengal. He was the founder of the Dr. Graham's Homes, Orphanage-cum-School for destitute Anglo-Indian children at Kalimpong—in the Eastern Himalayas on the borders of Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan, and India. He was the recipient of several British and Bhutanese honorary degrees.〔〔〔〔 〕〔 〕 ==Biography== Graham was born in a religious family on 8 September 1861 at De Beauvoir, West Hackney district, London, to the Scottish father from Dunbartonshire David Graham, a customs officer, and the Irish mother Bridget Nolan, a homemaker. He attended local Parish school, and was withdrawn from the school at the age of thirteen to work in order to support the family as his father had died in 1867.〔〔 With minimum and interrupted schooling, he started working as a clerk in a role of ''licking stamps'' and delivering messages. With an appetite to continue further studies, he attended evening classes at The Andersonian where he studied stenography and astronomy. In 1875, he enrolled himself in a school at Glasgow.〔〔〔 At the age of sixteen, he worked as a minor civil servant(clerk) to the General Board of Lunacy, Edinburgh. During this period, he became engaged in Church affairs as a member of St. Bernard's Parish Church, and also became the secretary of the ''Young Mens's Fellowship Association''. From University of Edinburgh, he studied ministry in 1885. While studying at the university, he became the secretary to the committee producing ''Life and Work'', a Church periodical, and also learnt here the importance and power of ''propaganda and dissemination of information''. In 1886, he initiated the ''Church of Scotland Yearbook'', and went to Dresden, Germany, for a brief period of study.〔〔〔 With British empire colonialism expanding globally and reaping financial benefits, many missionary committees and ministers, including doctors and nurses received the call to serve in faraway places—that also included, a duty to free the natives from the superstitions and fears of the religions that they had feared for centuries. Accordingly, he became the national secretary for the "Young Men's Guild," and was ordained as the first missionary supported by the same guild on 13 January 1889. After two days of ordination, he married Katherine McConachie, who later bore him two sons and four daughters, and was sent as a missionary to Kalimpong, part of then-British Sikkim—till 18th century, it was part of Sikkim, then became part of Bhutan, and at present part of West Bengal from 19th century.〔〔〔〔〔 Graham and his wife arrived Calcutta on 21 March 1889 travelling via Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. From Calcutta, they moved to Darjeeling, and than to Kalimpong—then populated with three main tribes Lepchas, Nepalese, and Bhutias - Graham was more attracted later to work with original inhabitants of the area, Lepcha people.〔〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Anderson Graham」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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