Chronology of James Scarth Gale

This is borrowed from the online information about the Gale Archive (PDF file) in the Library of the University of Toronto, Canada.

1863 Born February 19th in Pilkington, Wellington County, Ontario to John and Miami (née Bradt) Gale.

1888 Graduated from University College at the University of Toronto with a B.A. in foreign languages. Registered at Knox College to study theology, but left for Korea as a missionary volunteer with the YMCA.

1891 Joined the U.S.A. Presbyterian Mission

1892 Married Hattie (née Gibson) Heron, widow of his friend, Dr. J.W. Heron, who had died in 1890.

1894 Published Korean Grammatical Forms (Seoul: Trilingual Press)

1895 Published a Korean translation prepared by himself and his wife of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress (Seoul: Trilingual Press)

1897 Published Korean-English Dictionary (Yokohama: Kelby) and Korean Sketches (Chicago: Fleming H. Revell)

Spent one year in Washington, D.C. where he was ordained by the New Albany Presbytery.

1898 Returned to Korea.

1900 Mrs. Gale and her daughters went to Switzerland where they remained for six years.

1903 Travelled via the Trans-Siberian Railway to Switzerland where he spent six months.
Wrote and published The Vanguard (New York: Fleming H. Revell) Received an honorary degree, Doctor of Divinty, from Howard University, Washington, D.C.

1906 Spent a year’s leave in Washington

1907 Returned to Korea with his family. Mrs. Gale became ill and died the following year.

1909 Published Korea in Transition (New York: Young People’s Missionary Movement of the United States and Canada)

1910 Married Ada Louise Sale who had grown up in Japan

1911 Birth of George James Marley

1913 Published a. translation of tales by Im Bang and Yi Ryuk, Korean Folk Tales (London: J.M. Dent)

1916 Birth of Vivian Scarth

1917 Death of Vivian

1918 Birth of Ada Alexandra

1922 Published a translation of a work by Kim Man-Choong, The Cloud Dream of the Nine (London: Daniel O’Connor)

1925 Published a Korean translation of the Bible prepared by Gale and two Koreans

1927 Retired from missionary work in Korea to live in Bath, England.

1937 Died January 31st