Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell

1865-1940. Medical missionary and author. Born near Chester, England, his life of Christian service began in 1885 in response to a challenge presented by D.L. Moody at an East London tent meeting. After graduating in medicine he joined the Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, became its superintendent in 1890, and cruised from the Bay of Biscay to Iceland, ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of the fishermen. In 1892 he went to Labrador and devoted the rest of his life to the welfare of its inhabitants. Before he retired in 1935 he had founded five hospitals, seven nursing stations, three orphanage boarding schools, cooperative stores, industrial centers, agricultural stations and, in 1912, the King George V Seaman's Institute in St. John's, Newfoundland. He annually cruised along the Labrador and Newfoundland shores with a hospital ship to minister in remote communities. Honored by numerous medical societies, geographical societies, and universities, he was knighted in 1927.