HOLT CHENG, M.D.
Holt Cheng was the first Chinese American who graduated from a U. S. medical school and passed the California Medical Board. It happened in 1904. He was born on November 6, 1878 in the Wu Shi Village, Zhongshan County, Guangdong Province, China to a farming family. At the age of eight, he and his cousin were sent to Honolulu, Hawaii to work for their uncle in a small grocery store. When their uncle retired, the boys traveled to California. Holt worked his way through the College of Physician and Surgeons in San Francisco (known nowadays as the University of Pacific) by picking apples and selling pictures on the street. He graduated in 1904 and passed the California Medical Board examination. After graduation, Dr. Cheng returned to China to practice Western medicine and to be with his parents. He was awarded the "Medical Ju Ren" by the Imperal Chinese Government. He was appointed the Expectant Secretary of the Grand Secretariat and Head Master of the Imperial Army Medical College in Guangzhow. In 1908, he and his friends founded the Guangdong Guang Hua Medical College which was the first western medical college established by Chinese. He married Edna Rachel Lee of San Francisco on March 20, 1910. He retired in 1931 due to health problems. During the WWII, the family moved to Guangxi Providence. He passed away in 1942 with his wife and son, Homer, at his side. His physician son believed he died of cancer and/or liver disease.
Dr. Cheng was honored in a special ceremony in San Francisco on July 26, 2003. Several members of Chinese American Physicians Society were invited to attend.
