John K. Randle
| Dr. John K. Randle | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1 February 1855 Regent, Sierra Leone |
| Died | 27 February 1928 (aged 73) Lagos, Nigeria |
| Nationality | West African |
| Occupation | Doctor |
| Known for | Co-founder of the People's Union |
| Children | J.K. Randle (son) |
John K. Randle (1 February 1855 – 27 February 1928) was a West African doctor who was active in politics in Lagos, now in Nigeria, in the colonial era. Born in Sierra Leone, he was one of the first West Africans to qualify as a doctor in the United Kingdom. On return he worked for the Lagos Colony colonial medical service for a while, then left due to discrimination and built up a successful private practice, treating both Europeans and Africans. He co-founded the People's Union in 1908, a political association that sometimes opposed government measures. During World War I (1914–18) he was loyal to the British Empire. In post-war politics the conservative People's Union was not a serious competitor to the more radical Nigerian National Democratic Party.
John K. Randle was born on 1 February 1855, son of Thomas Randle, a liberated slave from an Oyo village in the west of what is now Nigeria. His father later moved to Lagos and set up a successful business as a haberdasher. Randle's birthplace of Regent, Sierra Leone was a settlement of liberated slaves from various parts of West Africa and as far afield as Mozambique. He was educated at the missionary school in the village and then at the Church Mission Society grammar school in Freetown. He became a "dispenser" at the Colonial Hospital in 1874. He moved to Accra, then on the Gold Coast, where he saved enough to pay for formal medical training at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland between 1884 and 1888, graduating with a gold medal in materia medica. Randle and his fellow-student Obadiah Johnson obtained positions in 1889 as Assistant Colonial Surgeons in the Lagos Colonial Hospital. At the same time, Randle practiced privately, treating most of the European traders of Lagos, particularly the Germans.
In November 1890 Randle married Victoria Matilda Davies. His wife's father was the wealthy James Pinson Labulo Davies and her mother was Sara Forbes Bonetta, a Yoruba slave girl whom Queen Victoria had arranged to have adopted and educated at the queen's expense. Queen Victoria had given Matilda Davies the name Victoria at her christening, had bestowed an allowance of ₤40 for life and had given her a solid gold christening set. The queen donated the material for Matilda's wedding gown. Dr Sodeinde Akinsiku Leigh-Sodipe (1865–1901) was godfather at the 1893 christening of Randle's son Romanes Adewale.
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