Yung Kwai papers

Yung Kwai was born on March 2, 1861, in Sin Hui, Province of Kwangtung, China. He came to the United States as a participant in the Chinese Educational Mission program, studying at the Springfield, Massachusetts, High School. He subsequently enrolled in Yale College from which he received his B.A. degree in 1884. From 1884 to 1885 he was employed by the Chinese Legation in Washington, D.C. He returned to Yale during the 1885-1886 academic year to study at the Sheffield Scientific School, and the next year at the Columbia University School of Mines. In 1890 he joined the Chinese Legation in Washington, D.C. and served successively as interpreter, first secretary, adviser, and chargé d'affaires ad interim until his retirement in 1936. On May 23, 1894, he married Mary Elizabeth Lyon Burnham. He was also a reporter for the New York Herald, 1893-1897. Following his retirement from the legation, he served as general adviser to the Chinese Embassy, Washington, D.C., from 1936 to 1943. Yung Kwai died on March 17, 1943, in Washington, D.C.