Africa and Schweitzer (1961)

Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) was an Alsatian theologian, philosopher, musician, and physician celebrated for his humanitarian work. Born into a family steeped in religion, music, and scholarship, he pursued theology at the University of Strasbourg, earning a doctorate in philosophy and a licentiate in theology. Schweitzer gained renown as a theological scholar with his influential work, The Quest of the Historical Jesus. He was also an accomplished organist and musicologist, using his musical earnings to fund his later medical training and African hospital. In 1905, Schweitzer decided to become a medical missionary, earning his M.D. by 1913. He established a hospital in Lambaréné, French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon), where he treated patients and expanded the facility over the years, often funding it with his own earnings and global donations. Schweitzer briefly returned to Europe during World War I after being interned, where he wrote and lectured, before resuming his work in Africa in 1924. Throughout his life, he continued writing, managing the hospital, and treating patients, earning global recognition, including the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize, which he used to start a leprosy hospital in Lambaréné. Schweitzer died in 1965 and was buried at Lambaréné.

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