Damien
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Damien. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
da'mi-en, Father, a Belgian priest noted for self-sacrificing missionary work in the Hawaiian Islands. In order to stamp out leprosy the government of these islands requires all lepers to retire to the little island of Molokai as soon as the first sign of leprosy is seen. Even young mothers are obliged to leave their homes and children. No return is permitted; no further intercourse with relatives is possible. As leprosy eats away the extremities of the body first, and creeps toward the vital organs slowly, these unfortunate wretches drag their rotting limbs about for years, it may be, before death comes to their relief. This young priest was so stirred by the misery of the exiled colony, several hundred in number, that he cut himself off from the outside world and went into voluntary residence among them. From 1877 until the time of his death, twelve years later, he toiled heroically, feeding the hungry, dressing loathsome wounds, comforting the dying, and burying the dead. From the very nature of his work Father Damien knew he would become a leper sooner or later. After eight years at Molokai spots of leprosy appeared on his hands and feet. He was a doomed man. At his death a bishop-missionary, resident in Honolulu, the capital city of the islands, wrote a note to a friend belittling the priest's work, defaming his character, and styling him a "coarse, dirty, bigoted, headstrong man." This letter was published in the Sydney Presbyterian, October 26, 1889, and fell into the hands of Robert Louis Stevenson, who was well acquainted with the facts. Stevenson was indignant, and addressed the bishop an open letter, since published under the title of Father Damien, in which he contrasts the luxury, sloth, and jealousy of the bishop with the poverty, toil, and sacrifice of the priest. This remarkable article is one of the keenest pieces of invective in the English language. The prominence of the writer, the merit of the topic, and the skill of the writing render the incident one of note. The services and the self-sacrifice of Father Damien are commemorated in an imperishable bit of literature and cannot now be forgotten. See Leprosy
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
FATHER (dä-myan'), (JOSEPH DAMIEN DE VEUSTER) a Bel' gian priest; born in Louvain, Jan. 3, 1841; in 1873 devoted himself to the duties of spiritual guide to the lepers confined to the Hawaiian island of Molokai. Sent on a mission to Honolulu, where he heard from the bishop the neglected state of the lepers, some 700 or 800 in number, who lived on that small island, he volunteered to establish himself among them; and from 1877 onward became physician of their souls and bodies, their m magistrate, teacher, carpenter, gardener, cook, and even gravedigger at need. For long he worked on singlehanded at his noble labors, but was ultimately joined by another priest. For 12 years he escaped all contagion of the fatal disease, though in constant contact with the sick and dying; but in 1885 the malady appeared in him; yet he continued unabated his heroic labors till near his death, April 10, 1889.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Aiton's in 1910 and Collier's in 1921 both treat Damien as a heroic figure secured in memory only by Robert Louis Stevenson's open letter; the Catholic Church has since made the recognition formal, beatifying him in 1995 and canonizing him as St. Damien of Molokai on 11 October 2009. The disease itself is no longer the sentence these entries describe: leprosy, or Hansen's disease, has been curable since the World Health Organization adopted multidrug therapy in the early 1980s, and Hawaii repealed its compulsory isolation law in 1969, after which the Kalaupapa settlement became a national historical park in 1980, home to a dwindling group of residents who chose to stay. Modern accounts also correct some details: Damien was born at Tremelo in 1840 (Louvain was where he entered his order), he died on 15 April 1889, and the man who called him "coarse, dirty, bigoted, headstrong" was not a bishop but the Honolulu Protestant clergyman Charles McEwen Hyde.
Written for this edition, 2026.