Minnie Vautrin
Minnie Vautrin | |
|---|---|
Photograph of American missionary Wilhelmina "Minnie" Vautrin in 1912 | |
| Born | Wilhelmina Vautrin September 27, 1886 Secor, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | May 14, 1941 (aged 54) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Resting place | Salt River Cemetery, Shepherd, Michigan, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Columbia University Illinois State University |
| Occupation | missionary |
| Employer(s) | Foreign Christian Missionary Society Ginling College |
Wilhelmina "Minnie" Vautrin (September 27, 1886 – May 14, 1941) was an American missionary, diarist, educator and president of Ginling College. A Christian missionary in China for 28 years, she became known for caring for and protecting at least 10,000 Chinese refugees during the Nanjing Massacre in China, during which she kept a now-published diary, at times even challenging the Japanese authorities for documents in an attempt to protect the civilians staying at her college.
After surviving in the Nanking Safety Zone from 1937, she returned to the United States in May 1940. One year later, she committed suicide in America due to extreme stress and trauma from the Nanjing Massacre. Vautrin was awarded the Order of the Blue Jade by the Chinese government for her humanitarian work during the Nanjing Massacre.