William Warder Cadbury, born in Philadelphia in 1877, was distantly related to the founder of Cadbury chocolate. He was an American physician, professor, researcher, author, and medical missionary.
He attended the William Penn Charter School, and earned his B.A. and M.A. from Haverford College. While studying at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School he was a member of the Pennsylvania Christian Association, and graduated in 1902.
Cadbury married twice and had three daughters with his second wife, Catharine.
His Quakerism directed his missionary efforts to China. He believed he had a duty to bring Western Medicine to China and to help the Chinese people. After graduating, he travelled to Canton in China, where he eventually became a leading internal medicine doctor. He worked for 40 years at Canton Hospital, serving as doctor, professor, writer, and superintendent, and contributed significantly to improving healthcare in the region.
He adopted the son of a Chinese general, Lei Fuk-lam, who became part of the Cadbury family. General Lei must have seen something winsome in American missionaries and wanted his son to grow up in a Christian and American environment. In gratitude, the General funded the building of a small hospital near Canton.
Cadbury set up clinics in villages near Canton and encountered people with little access to healthcare, such as a young woman with mental illness whom he helped receive treatment. He and his wife supported orphans during the period of Japanese aggression by bringing children to local orphanages and schools. While spreading understanding through Christian teachings, Cadbury focused on alleviating suffering rather than conversion, often working with a Chinese evangelist to connect with villagers.
During his time in Canton, Cadbury owned a holiday property on the island of Cheung Chau, Hong Kong. He is recorded in 1938 as the owner of House #19. Cheung Chau offered ideal conditions for holiday properties, and many missionaries /missionary societies owned property there.
William Cadbury experienced significant upheaval during his years in China. In 1943, he and his wife were detained in a Japanese internment camp for eight months before being released and returning to Philadelphia for the remainder of World War II.
After the war, Cadbury returned to China to support relief efforts. Forced to leave in 1949 due to political changes, he spent his retirement in New Jersey, where he lived until his death in 1959.
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