Margaret Hie Ding Lin

Margaret Hie Ding Lin (March 17, 1890[1] or April 26, 1891[2]–July 30, 1973) was a physician born in Fujian, China who emigrated to Illinois, United States.[3]

According to a 1954 California newspaper account, Lin was "born in Foochow, the third child of the Rev. Nik Sing Lin, for 20 years minister in the American Born Mission at Foochow, and Mrs. Lin. Mrs. Lin, a teacher in primary school at the mission, was so disappointed because her third born was a girl that she insisted she be educated as a boy."[4] Lin was brought to the U.S. at age 13 by "missionary guardians."[5] Lin graduated from Foochow College, and was awarded a master's degree from Forest Park University in St. Louis, Missouri.[4]

She studied medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, graduating class of 1915.[6][5] Her internship was at the Mary Thompson Hospital for Women and Children in Chicago.[5] She was said to be the eighth Chinese woman of the modern era to earn a medical degree.[7] Dr. Lin was the first woman to pass the Illinois state medical board exam.[4]

She moved back to Fujian in 1917, where she helped build Fukien General Hospital.[5] The hospital closed during the Chinese civil war in 1924.[5] She then moved to Shanghai where she worked at the Red Cross Women and Children's Hospital.[5] She worked in China for 22 years and specialized in female patients.[6] She worked as a doctor in "battle zones" from 1932 to 1937.[6] She moved back to the United States when the Japanese invaded in 1939.[5] Between 1915 and 1939 she reportedly delivered approximately 6,500 babies.[4]

In 1941 she was the first woman to be awarded an International College of Surgeons fellowship.[6] She was named an assistant of clinical surgery by the University of Illinois.[5] Lin was the first female staff doctor of the university medical school.[4]

She was on the staff at Oak Forest Hospital beginning in 1943 under Dr. Eugene J. Chesrow.[6][5] She and Dr. Janet Wang were photographed together as novel female doctors "from the Far East" in 1946.[8] Lin became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1954.[2]

In Illinois she also worked at the Cook County Tuberculosis Hospital "and tended Chinatown patients during weekends."[9] Lin was a member of the American Medical Association, the Women's Medical Association, and the Chicago Medical Society.[10] Dr. Lin died in 1973 and was buried at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.[1]

In 2004, Chicago's Park 360 was renamed to Margaret Hie Ding Lin Park in her honor.[11] The basketball courts at the South Loop neighborhood park are a popular filming location, used for TV commercials featuring Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose, and a scene from The Bear season four.[12][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Entry for Margaret Lin and L Kosary, 30 Jul 1973". Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1871–1998. FamilySearch.
  2. ^ a b "Entry for Margaret Hie Ding Lin, 1954". Illinois, County Naturalization Records, 1800–1998. FamilySearch.
  3. ^ "Margaret Hie-Ding Lin". Chicago Tribune. August 2, 1973. p. 62. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Chinese Woman M.D. Engineers Celebration". Progress-Bulletin. April 7, 1954. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Woman Surgeon at Congress in Rome". The Chicago Defender. May 7, 1960. p. 67. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Rites Today for Dr. Lin, Physician". Chicago Tribune. August 4, 1973. p. 80. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  7. ^ "Honored". San Antonio Light. July 19, 1942. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  8. ^ "Dr. Janet Wang & Dr. Margaret Hie Ding Lin". Detroit Free Press. October 22, 1946. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  9. ^ "Plan would name parks after women". Chicago Tribune. March 11, 2004. pp. 2–5. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  10. ^ "24 Residents to be Honored". Chicago Tribune. April 30, 1964. p. 28. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  11. ^ "Parks Renamed". Chicago Tribune. June 10, 2004. pp. 33–6. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  12. ^ Golden, Jamie Nesbitt (September 8, 2021). "One Of Chicago's Most Famous Basketball Courts Is Getting A $500,000 Facelift". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  13. ^ Chicago, Choose (June 26, 2025). "The Bear Season 4 Chicago Filming Spots". Choose Chicago. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
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