event_note History Timeline
1842 - 1920
Rev. Theodore Thanbya (1842-1920)
room United States
This portrait photograph is of one of the very first students from anywhere in Asia to study in America, the Rev. Theodore Thanbya (1842-1920). Theodore attended Rochester University from 1868-1871, mastering Greek and Latin, and even delivered his class's senior oration at graduation; the subject he chose was "The Contest for Commercial Supremacy in Asia". Theodore went on to live a long and fruitful life in Kemmendine, Rangoon, as a leader of the Karen community and the reverend of the Baptist church in Burma.