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Margaret Chung
Margaret Chung
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Margaret Jessie Chung (Chinese: 張瑪珠, (1889-10-02)October 2, 1889 – (1959-01-05)January 5, 1959), born in Santa Barbara, California, was the first known American-born Chinese female physician. After graduating from the University of Southern California Medical School[1] in 1916 and completing her internship and residency in Illinois, she established one of the first Western medical clinics in San Francisco's Chinatown in the early 1920s.

Key Information

Early life

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Chung was born in Santa Barbara, the eldest of eleven children.[2][3] At the time of her birth, the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was at its strongest. Her father, Chung Wong, was the foreman of the Rancho Guadalasca in Ventura County.[4] Her mother, Ah Yane, also emigrated from China to California in the 1870s where she spent time in a mission home before working in agriculture and sometimes as a court interpreter.[4] Her parents were denied from obtaining U.S. citizenship, and faced difficulty finding work. The family moved to Los Angeles by 1902.[2] Chung's father eventually died from injuries sustained in a car accident after being denied care at hospitals.[4] She supported the family and helped to raise her younger siblings from when she was ten, disrupting her schooling.[4][5]

In 1905, Chung was noted in the Los Angeles Herald as a promising student and for her planned future career as a newspaper reporter.[6] She was noted in the Herald again in 1906 for her poem "Missionary Giving," delivered at the eighteenth anniversary of the Los Angeles Congregational Chinese mission.[7] Chung would write and deliver a paper entitled "Comparisons of Chinese and American Costumes" at the first anniversary of the Pasadena Congregational mission in 1907.[8] By that fall when she was 17, Chung had graduated from the eighth grade at the Seventh Street School[9] and enrolled in the preparatory school at USC, being hailed as a "bright particular star" of the women's gymnasium class.[10] In 1910, Chung won second place in a speech contest.[11]

Women of every nation, every country, should learn medicine, so that they can teach the women of their countries and their races how to care for themselves and their children—how to improve the coming generation.

— Margaret Chung, Los Angeles Herald profile, 1914[12]

Chung won a Los Angeles Times scholarship to study at USC by selling newspaper subscriptions to raise funds for her education and worked her way through college as a waitress, a seller of surgical instruments, and by winning cash prizes in several speech contests.[2] In 1909, Chung graduated from USC.[13] Chung enrolled in the medical school in 1911, according to a 1914 profile that noted her belief that she was "the first Chinese girl to enter a medical school in this state."[12] Chung took on a different identity, going by "Mike" and dressed in a long blazer, shirt, and tie.[4]

Chung was raised Presbyterian.[4]

Professional career

[edit]
Dr. Chung with a Lockheed P-38 Lightning model and photos of some of her recruits

After graduating with a medical degree in 1916, she applied to be a medical missionary. Her application was rejected three times. by administrative boards because, despite being born on United States soil, she was considered Chinese and therefore could not secure funds for missionary work.[4] She settled for work as a surgical nurse in Los Angeles, at the Santa Fe Railroad Hospital.[2] After several months, she left for Chicago, interning at the Mary Thompson Women's and Children's Hospital before serving her residency at the nearby Kankakee State Hospital.[2][14] Chung would serve as the resident assistant in psychiatry for the first Juvenile Psychopathic Institute of the State of Illinois at the Cook County Hospital in 1917;[15] she was later appointed state criminologist for Illinois.[16] After two years in Illinois, Chung resigned from her position with Cook County in November 1918[17] and returned to Los Angeles following her father's death, accepting a position as a surgeon at Santa Fe Railroad Hospital,[2][18] where she would go on to treat celebrities, including removing Mary Pickford's tonsils.[5]

Chung moved to San Francisco's Chinatown in 1922 after experiencing the city while accompanying two patients,[5] where she opened a private office.[19] She treated the local Chinese American population as well as celebrities such as Sophie Tucker, Helen Hayes, and Tallulah Bankhead.[2] Her practice was one of the few which would provide Chinese and Chinese Americans with Western medical care during a time when hospitals would often turn them away.[4] In 1925, San Francisco's Chinese Hospital opened. Chung led the gynecology, obstetrics, and pediatrics unit as one of four department heads.[4]

She also treated seven Navy reserve pilots during this time; part of her care was making them meals, and they reportedly soon began calling themselves "Mom Chung's Fair-Haired Bastard Sons" as a tribute to her.[2] An alternative origin story for the "Mom Chung" nickname is that after eight pilots came to her in 1932, volunteering their services for China against Japan, she turned them down and fed them instead because "they looked starved". The pilots "ate everything she gave them, except eggs" because when they were destitute, the only vendor who would lend the pilots food on credit was an egg farmer.[20] Prior to the United States entry into World War II, Chung would give her "adopted son" pilots a jade Buddha to wear around their necks,[21] which would become a token by which the pilots would recognize each other throughout the world.[2]

When Japan invaded China in 1937, Chung volunteered as a front-line surgeon,[3][22] but she was secretly assigned instead to recruit pilots for the 1st American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers."[2] During the war, Chung would serve up to 175 people at Thanksgiving at her house and wrapped and addressed 4,000 gifts at Christmas.[23] Her houseguests included high ranking officers and US senators and congressmen; leaning on these connections, she helped establish the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service although she was not permitted to join them, as the government suspected that she was gay.[5] Mom Chung adopted the entire VF-2 squadron, nicknamed "The Rippers" for their logo, which showed a Chinese dragon ripping a flag.[24] VF-2 was assigned to USS Enterprise (CV-6)[25] and would set an American record by shooting down 67 Japanese planes in a single day during the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot in June 1944.[24] She also started a social network for pilots and other military personnel, politicians, and celebrities in California where she used her connections to recruit for war efforts and lobby for the creation of a women's naval reserve.[4]

By the end of the war, Chung’s surrogate family had grown to more than 1,500. Aviators were part of the “Fair-Haired Bastards” group, while submarine men were called “Golden Dolphins”.[2] All others were known as “Kiwis”. Most of Chung’s “children” were American servicemen, but Hollywood stars like John Wayne and Ronald Reagan were also included. So were politicians and top military officials like Fleet Admirals Chester W. Nimitz and William “Bull” Halsey Jr. The pilot and adventurer Amelia Earhart was one of her few “bastard daughters”.[26]

In 1947, 90% of Chung's medical patients were white.[27] She retired from medical practice within ten years after the end of World War II, and her "adopted sons" purchased a house for her in Marin County.[2]

Death

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Signing the TBM "Mom Chung" on May 30, 2013

Chung died of cancer in January 1959 at Franklin Hospital in San Francisco.[23][20] Among her pallbearers was Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, one of her "Golden Dolphins."[2]

Personal relationships

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A pioneer in both professional and political realms, Chung led an unconventional personal life. As the only woman in her class,[2] she adopted masculine dress and called herself "Mike," but after having established a professional practice she reverted to conventional dress and her female name.[28]

Based on personal correspondence, she had close and apparently intense relationships with at least two other women,[29] the writer Elsa Gidlow and entertainer Sophie Tucker, that some writers have speculated were romantic.[30] Although she was briefly engaged, she never married.

An advocate of strong Sino-American relations, Chung was a neighbor, friend, and confidante of travel writer Richard Halliburton (1900–1939),[31] who died in an attempt to sail the junk Sea Dragon, as a symbol of the bond of East and West, from Hong Kong to the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco.

Military "sons"

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Some of the notable "sons" of "Mom" Chung included:[16][32]

Commemorations

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Chung reportedly served as inspiration for the character of Dr. Mary Ling in the 1939 film King of Chinatown, portrayed by Anna May Wong.[2]

At least three Flying Fortresses were named "Mama Chung" in her honor by her "adopted" sons during World War II.[33]

Chung was commemorated with a plaque in the Legacy Walk project on October 11, 2012,[34] an outdoor public display which celebrates LGBT history and people.[35]

A tunnel boring machine for the San Francisco Municipal Railway's Central Subway was named "Mom Chung" on March 7, 2013.[36]

References

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
Margaret Jessie Chung (October 2, 1889 – January 5, 1959) was an American physician of Chinese ancestry, distinguished as the first known Chinese American woman to earn a degree in the United States. Graduating from the University of Southern California's medical school in 1916 amid widespread racial and gender barriers, she interned at a hospital before returning to to open one of the earliest Western medical clinics in San Francisco's Chinatown during the 1920s, serving immigrant communities with modern surgical techniques. In the lead-up to and during , Chung aided the Allied cause by covertly recruiting pilots for the —known as the —and lobbying for women's integration into the U.S. Navy, contributing to the formation of in 1942, though her Chinese heritage barred her own enlistment. She became known as "Mom" Chung for informally adopting more than 1,500 servicemen, particularly aviators and submariners, whom she motivated through hosted dinners, personal correspondence, and care packages, fostering a surrogate family network that sustained morale on the front lines. Throughout her career, Chung navigated entrenched , including denied residencies and professional ostracism, yet persisted as a treating celebrities and advocating for Chinese American rights, leaving a legacy as a trailblazer in medicine despite later scrutiny from federal investigations into her associations.

Early Life and Education

Family and Childhood in California

Margaret Jessie Chung was born on October 2, 1889, in , to Chinese immigrant parents who had arrived in the United States as young children during the . Her father, Chung Wong, a former merchant from , labored on farms and sold to support the , while her mother, Ah Yane, contributed through farming and occasionally taking in laundry. As the eldest of eleven children, Chung grew up in a marked by frequent relocations across in pursuit of economic stability, reflecting the precarious circumstances faced by Chinese immigrant families amid widespread labor discrimination. The Chung family adhered to devout Christian beliefs, influenced by Presbyterian missions that had reached Chinese communities in . This religious environment shaped Chung's early aspirations, including an initial desire to become a medical to , inspired by figures like Presbyterian medical pioneer Dr. Mary H. Fulton. From a young age, she assumed significant responsibilities, particularly in caring for her younger siblings during periods when her parents fell ill, which honed her sense of duty and exposure to rudimentary caregiving. By her mid-teens, around 1905, Chung had relocated with her family to , where at age 16 she began teaching English in the city's Chinese enclave, an experience that immersed her further in the challenges of cultural adaptation and community support within California's segregated Chinatowns. These formative years underscored the intersection of familial obligations, religious values, and immigrant resilience that defined her childhood.

Pursuit of Medical Training Amid Barriers

At age ten, Margaret Chung resolved to become a to , inspired by tales recounted by her mother. This ambition drove her pursuit of amid pervasive racial and in early 20th-century America, exacerbated by policies like the of 1882. After graduating high school, she applied to several East Coast medical schools but was rejected due to her Chinese ancestry and sex. To finance her studies, Chung secured a Los Angeles Times scholarship for the first two years at a preparatory academy affiliated with the (USC), followed by self-funding through jobs such as waitressing and selling newspapers. In 1911, she enrolled in USC's College of Physicians and Surgeons, where she was the sole and non-white student in her class. To navigate the male-dominated environment and mitigate harassment, she adopted masculine attire and aliases like "Bob" during her studies. Chung graduated with her M.D. in 1916, becoming the first American-born Chinese woman physician. Her perseverance highlighted the intersectional barriers of anti-Asian and , as medical institutions largely excluded women and minorities, with women comprising less than 5% of U.S. medical students before 1920. Despite these obstacles, her determination secured her degree, though post-graduation rejections for roles underscored ongoing based on race.

Professional Career

Initial Medical Practice and Relocations

After earning her from the University of Southern California's College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1916, Margaret Chung encountered significant barriers to establishing a practice due to racial and discrimination, including rejections from and residencies. Unable to secure positions in , she relocated to in late 1916, where she initially worked as a surgical nurse before obtaining an at Mary Thompson Hospital under Dr. Bertha Van Hoosen, a prominent advocate for . During her time in the area, extending through 1918, Chung advanced to roles as an intern and medical resident, gaining practical experience in and , including a stint at the Juvenile Psychopathic Institute. In 1919, Chung returned to , where she established a private medical practice specializing in and . Her patients included early Hollywood actors and other professionals in the burgeoning , allowing her to build a viable clientele despite ongoing that limited hospital affiliations and broader opportunities. She also briefly served at the Santa Fe Railroad Hospital, honing her surgical skills on industrial injuries. Facing persistent professional isolation in , including exclusion from major medical networks, Chung relocated again in 1922 to at the invitation of Hollywood patients seeking her care during a trip. This move positioned her closer to the Chinese American community and facilitated her eventual focus on underserved immigrant populations, though initial challenges in securing a permanent site persisted.

Establishment of Clinic in San Francisco's

In the early , following unsuccessful attempts to secure hospital internships due to racial and gender discrimination, Margaret Chung relocated to San Francisco's to establish a private medical practice focused on Western medicine for the local Chinese immigrant community, which largely relied on traditional herbal remedies and lacked access to modern facilities. Her clinic provided essential services including , gynecology, and , addressing high rates of and issues prevalent among low-income residents. By 1922, Chung had helped organize the initial Western-style clinic in the neighborhood, marking one of the earliest efforts to integrate conventional medical care into an area underserved by mainstream hospitals. Chung's practice gained traction through community trust built on her bilingual skills and cultural familiarity, allowing her to treat thousands of patients annually despite operating in modest conditions with limited resources. This groundwork facilitated broader institutional development; through years of advocacy and fundraising within the Chinese community—totaling over $100,000 in donations—she contributed to the founding of the Chinese Hospital, which officially opened on September 1, 1925, as the first modern hospital serving exclusively. As one of four initial physicians on staff, Chung headed the obstetrics-gynecology and departments, performing surgeries and deliveries that reduced local mortality rates from infectious diseases and complications. The hospital's establishment reflected pragmatic community-driven initiative amid exclusionary policies at non-Chinese facilities, though it operated under financial strains and regulatory hurdles from city authorities skeptical of ethnic-specific institutions. Her clinic's success underscored Chung's adaptation to barriers in broader medical systems, where —rooted in the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act's legacy—limited opportunities, prompting her focus on self-reliant service provision. Patient volumes grew rapidly, with Chung handling up to 50 cases daily, emphasizing preventive care and surgical interventions previously unavailable locally. This phase solidified her reputation as a pioneer, though sources note her independent practice predated the hospital and continued alongside it, blending solo entrepreneurship with collaborative efforts.

Medical Contributions During World War II

Unable to serve officially as a military surgeon due to restrictions on women and Asian Americans, Margaret Chung contributed to the Allied war effort by conducting medical examinations for prospective pilots recruited to support China's defense against Japanese aggression. Beginning in the late 1930s, following Japan's 1937 invasion of China, she collaborated with Chinese officials to screen American aviators for physical fitness, particularly assessing their suitability for high-altitude combat flying in units like the American Volunteer Group (AVG), later known as the Flying Tigers. These evaluations ensured candidates met rigorous health standards required for the demanding conditions of aerial warfare over Asia. Chung's recruitment efforts, backed unofficially by the Chinese government, facilitated the enlistment of hundreds of U.S. pilots into Chinese air forces starting as early as 1931 but intensifying during preparations in 1941. She performed detailed physical assessments in her clinic, identifying conditions that could impair performance in operations. Her medical expertise proved vital in selecting personnel for the AVG, which achieved notable successes in defending and from 1941 to 1942, crediting her pre-flight screenings with minimizing health-related attrition. Beyond pilot recruitment, Chung maintained her practice treating wounded servicemen on leave and advocated for women's inclusion in naval medical roles, contributing to the establishment of the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) in 1942, though she herself remained a civilian physician. Her wartime medical activities extended to lecturing on public health issues affecting troops and providing aid to Chinese war relief efforts through her professional network.

Personal Life

Romantic Relationships and Lifestyle Choices

Chung never married, eschewing traditional expectations for Chinese American women despite a brief early in her career. Biographers and historical accounts indicate she engaged in romantic relationships with women, notably Canadian poet , whom she met in the late 1920s while treating Gidlow and her partner as patients, and entertainer , with whom she shared a close, possibly romantic bond marked by frequent correspondence and mutual support. These relationships occurred amid Chung's adoption of a masculine persona, including tailored suits, short hair, and cigars, which she used to navigate professional barriers and assert independence but also fueled speculation about her sexuality. Contemporary observers, including colleague physician Bessie Jeong, explicitly described Chung as a lesbian, a characterization echoed in 1940s rumors documented in an FBI file that investigated her amid wartime security concerns. However, Chung never publicly affirmed a homosexual identity, and she systematically destroyed personal papers late in life, limiting direct evidence of her private affections. Her lifestyle reflected bohemian inclinations, as she frequented speakeasies, bars, and cafes beyond Chinatown's confines, associating with artists and performers in San Francisco's North Beach subculture, which included openly lesbian circles. This conduct drew ostracism from segments of the Chinese community wary of her nonconformity, contrasting with acceptance among celebrity patients who valued her discretion and skill.

Symbolic Adoptions of Military Personnel

During , Margaret Chung engaged in a practice of symbolically adopting over 1,500 American servicemen, primarily pilots and submariners, whom she affectionately called her "fair-haired bastards." This ritual involved presenting each adoptee with a ring or a small statue as a token of their bond, symbolizing her role as their surrogate mother. The adoptions created a network of loyalty among the men, who in turn addressed her as "Mom Chung" and formed informal clubs that gathered at her home for meals and camaraderie. The tradition originated in the late 1930s, when Chung began providing medical care and hospitality to U.S. reserve pilots training in the Bay Area, an effort that expanded amid rising tensions with following its 1937 invasion of . By the early , as the U.S. entered the , the number of symbolic adoptions grew rapidly, with Chung hosting large parties—sometimes attended by hundreds—featuring Chinese-American and to boost . These gatherings reinforced a sense of family among the servicemen, many of whom credited her support with sustaining them through combat deployments. Historians note that the adoptions served dual purposes: fostering and countering anti-Asian by highlighting Chung's contributions to the , while also generating positive media coverage that portrayed her as a maternal figure to white American troops. Some scholars, drawing from biographical accounts, suggest the practice may have additionally aimed to deflect contemporary rumors regarding her personal relationships, though primary evidence emphasizes her expressed desire to support the Allied cause against . The "Fair-Haired Bastards" moniker, embraced by the group, underscored the unconventional yet endearing nature of these ties, which persisted post-war through correspondence and reunions.

Later Years, Death, and Legacy

Retirement and Final Years

Chung retired from her medical practice in within a decade following the end of , transitioning from the wartime surge in patients to a quieter period where her caseload diminished. Her "adopted sons" from the Fair-Haired Bastards and Golden Dolphins groups collectively purchased a home for her in , enabling a more secluded lifestyle away from the city's clinic. In retirement, Chung maintained selective ties to her wartime network but experienced a decline in social gatherings, such as her signature Sunday dinners, which had once drawn large crowds of servicemen and supporters. She resided in Marin County for the remainder of her life, reflecting on a career marked by professional isolation and personal unconventionality, until her health declined in the late .

Cause of Death and Immediate Aftermath

Margaret Chung died of cancer on January 5, 1959, at Franklin Hospital in , , at the age of 69. She had undergone surgery for the previous year. In her final months, Chung resided in a home purchased for her by some of her symbolic "sons" from circles. Her funeral drew significant attention, reflecting her prominence in medical and military communities. Pallbearers included Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, one of her "Golden Dolphins"; San Francisco Mayor George Christopher; and orchestra conductor André Kostelanetz. The event underscored the enduring bonds she had formed with high-ranking naval officers and other notables during , though no official military honors were specified in contemporary accounts. News coverage at the time highlighted her trailblazing career as the first Chinese American female physician, marking her passing as a notable loss in American medical history.

Historical Assessments and Commemorations

Historians assess Margaret Chung as a pioneering figure in American medicine, notable for being the first Chinese American woman to earn a and practice as a physician in the United States, thereby challenging entrenched racial and gender barriers in the early . Her establishment of a Western-style in San Francisco's in the is credited with advancing modern healthcare access in immigrant communities, though she encountered professional discrimination that limited formal hospital affiliations. During , assessments highlight her patriotic efforts, including symbolically "adopting" over 1,500 U.S. servicemen—whom she called her "fair-haired bastards"—providing medical care, morale support, and jade Buddha amulets as talismans, which fostered a unique network of loyalty among military personnel. She also lobbied naval officials to establish the WAVES program for women in the U.S. Navy, though her contributions were not publicly acknowledged due to prevailing prejudices against her ethnicity and rumored same-sex relationships. Contemporary evaluations acknowledge Chung's indirect support for Allied efforts, such as recruiting pilots for the () in the Sino-Japanese War, yet note criticisms during her lifetime for her unconventional lifestyle, including associations with women and a penchant for fast cars, which led to judgments of "loose morals" and hampered her integration into Chinese American communities where she lacked fluency in the language. Despite these, her legacy is predominantly viewed as inspirational for Asian American women in STEM fields, with her resilience against poverty, misogyny, and emphasized in biographical accounts. Commemorations of Chung include the naming of three B-17 Flying Fortress bombers "Mama Chung" during , reflecting her symbolic maternal role among aviators. In 1945, she became the first American woman to receive China's People's Medal, awarded by Catholic Bishop Paul Yu-Pin for her wartime support of the Allied cause. Posthumously, a for San Francisco's Central Subway project was named "Mom Chung" in 2013, honoring her medical service to railroad workers and her broader contributions to the city. She was further recognized with a bronze plaque in Chicago's Legacy Walk on October 11, 2012, as part of a public display celebrating figures associated with LGBTQ history, sponsored by . These tributes underscore her enduring recognition as a barrier-breaking patriot, though some modern honors emphasize her personal relationships over professional achievements.

References

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