MARTIN, Alexander Carson, American missionary and educator: b. 'Livonia, Ind, 10 April 1827; d. Peking, China, 18 Dec. 1916. He was educated at the University of Indiana, from which he was graduated in 1846. He later studied at the New Albany Theological Semi nary (now the McCormick Theological Semi nary), at Chicago, from which he was gradu ated in 1847. The New York University con ferred the degrees of D.D. and LL.D. upon him.
He was appointed a Presbyterian missionary to China in 1849 and left here on 23 November of that year for Canton. For 67 years he worked among the Chinese. It was said of him that probably he knew China and the Chinese language as did no other American. Dr. Mar tin retired from active missionary work in 1868 to enter the Chinese government service. He was named by the Board of Foreign Missions here as an honorary missionary. He acted as interpreter for the United States Minister to China in the negotiations between the Washing ton government and the Imperial Government, at Peking, in connection with the United States Chinese treaty of 1853. He was the organizer
and president of the International Law and Lan guage School in Peking which was destroyed in the Boxer rebellion in 1900. He was said to have been the first Western teacher to open the door of English learning to the youth of the Far East. After 30 years as adviser to the Chinese government, Dr. Martin became presi dent of the new Imperial University of China. This movement for the establishment of a great institution of learning there was blighted by the Boxer uprising. Later Dr. Martin took the leadership of the Wu Chany University for a period of three years. He retired from this work in 1905. In the same year, when he was 78 years old, he gave up teaching, but remained in the capacity of adviser for both the govern ment and the Presbyterian mission.