Collection 630 Oral History Interview with Arthur M. Barnett

Collection

Identifier: CN 630

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

One oral history interview with Arthur Malcom Barnett, in which he describes his parents’ work as missionaries with Africa Inland Mission (AIM) among the Maasai people in Kenya, the development of Christianity in East Africa; traditional Maasai culture, his experiences aboard the Zamzam in 1941, and different aspects of medical missions. Other topics discussed include different AIM missionaries, including the Stauffachers, Davises, and Collins; the effect of World War II, leprosy treatment in Kenya and Tanzania, and the intersection of evangelism and medical work. The events described in the interviews cover the time period 1895-2006.

Arthur Barnett was interviewed by Bob Shuster on December 15, 2006 at Dr. Barnett’s home in Lansdale, PA.

Dates

2006

Creator

Barnett, Arthur M., 1910-2014. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright to the sound recording in this collection is held by the Billy Graham Center Archives.

Biographical Information

Full name: Dr. Arthur Malcolm Barnett

Birth: December 3, 1910 in Rumuruti, Kenya

Death: June 24, 2014 in Kenya

Family:

Parents: Rev. Albert Edmond Barnett and Elma Elizabeth Nischer Barnett

Siblings: Karl Albert (died of spinal meningitis at 20 months), Erik Stanley (twin), Paul Austin, Ruth Dorothy (Collins), William John

Marital Status: married Margaret Stevenson on January 4, 1941

Children: William Albert (b. 1945), Mary Elman (b. 1946), Arthur Stephen (b. 1948), Walter Erik (b. 1950)

Conversion: About age 7, baptism at age 12 in mission church in Kijabe, Kenya

Education:

1917-1925 – Rift Valley Academy

1925-1926 – San Bernardino High School, California

1926-1927 – Los Angeles Junior College (high school)

? -- John Brown University High School and College, High school diploma

Summer 1929 – University of Arkansas – certificate

1929-1930 – Columbia Bible College, 2-year diploma

1930-1933 – University of South Carolina, B.S.

1933-1937 – Columbia University Medical School, M.D.

1937-1939 – Hackensack, N.J. hospital – internship diploma

January 1939 – Passed national licensing board

August – October, 1942 – course in tropical and military medicine at Army Medical School in Washington, D.C.

Career:

1941 – Sailed for Africa on the Zamzam

1942-1943 – First lieutenant, U.S. Air Force, stationed at various bases in Africa, where he served as assistant to flight surgeon

1943 – Furlough in United States, stationed near Detroit

July 1945 – Discharged from the military

First Missions Term

April 1947 – September 1951 – Assigned to AIM mission station at Busia, Tanganyika territory to work Kola Ndoto Hospital, a leprosarium previously supervised by Dr. Nina Maynard

Furlough

January 1953-July 1953 – spent in Belgium

Second Missions Term

July 1953-December 1957 – Assigned to AIM mission station at Rethy General Hospital in Belgian Congo, replacing Carl Becker

Third Missions Term

February 1959-August 1963 – Assigned to AIM mission station at Kijabe, Kenya to launch a new hospital (1959-1960) and Princess Elizabeth Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya

1971 – Retired from AIM

Extent

1 Sound Recording

94 Minutes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Additions and Accruals

The material in this collection was given to the Billy Graham Center Archives by Dr. Arthur Malcolm Barnett in December 2006.

Accession 06-50

February 26, 2020

Katherine Graber