Charles j. "charlie" soong, first international student
Charles J. “Charlie” Soong, born in the Hainan Province in China, was Trinity College’s first international student. He enrolled in a special course of study in 1881, after converting to Methodism in Wilmington, North Carolina. There, a benefactor introduced him to Braxton Craven and Julian Carr, who paid his tuition. At the time, almost all of Trinity’s male, white students were from the south, principally North Carolina. Soong overlapped with the early Cherokee students, also enrolled in special courses. In 1882, Soong transferred to Vanderbilt where he graduated in 1885.[1] After he returned to China, he began printing copies of the Bible with machinery shipped by Carr. His daughters married powerful political and financial figures, including President Sun Yat-sen and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, who later led the nationalist army against the Communists.[2]
[1]. McDonald, Amy, “Charlie Soong at Trinity College,” The Devil’s Tale, May 22, 2014, https://blogs.library.duke.edu/rubenstein/2014/05/22/charlie-soong-at-trinity-college/.
[2]. King, William E., “Charles Soong,” Duke Dialogue, January 30, 1998. Available at https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/uarchives/history/articles/soong.
[2]. King, William E., “Charles Soong,” Duke Dialogue, January 30, 1998. Available at https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/uarchives/history/articles/soong.
