just in time to escape the Sepoy Rebellion. Tillman C. Trowbridge ('52, LL.D. '80), under the auspices of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (Congregational), went to Turkey, where he lived a life of great usefulness, and Thomas Spencer Ogden ('53, A.M. '57) was sent to Corsica by the Presbyterian Board.
Scores of Michigan men and women, as the great missionary movement swept to its climax, went out, not only to preach the gospel and minister to the sick but, whether intentionally or not, to become alumni centers of interest in the University of Michigan. Whatever opinion one may hold regarding the theological and denominational dogmatism of that period, one cannot fail to recognize the heroism and sincerity of these men and women; certainly the foreign students who were soon to come in such numbers to the University were the fruits of their sowing.
In later years, visits and expeditions abroad by our professors encouraged foreign students to come to the University, and in recent times governmental programs have resulted in bringing students to the campus in large numbers.
There were foreign students at the University from the very first, one from Mexico and one from Wales in 1847, two Canadians in 1852, an Englishman in 1853, and several students from Hawaii in 1854 and 1855, but these were sporadic cases, mostly the sons of missionaries. The cosmopolitan movement at Michigan actually began with the appearance of the first Oriental student, a Japanese, Saiske Tagai, who came in 1872, in the fourth decade of the University's history. The following year another Japanese student enrolled, Masakazu Stehachi Toyama (A.M. hon. '86), who not only became the president of the Imperial University, but the first minister of state for education in Japan and who died laden with imperial honors for his service to Japanese education.
Some years later, in the spring of 1880, President James B. Angell was appointed envoy extraordinary, minister plenipotentiary, and special commissioner to the Chinese Empire. As no one at the time could have foreseen, his diplomatic service marked the beginning of an interchange of courtesies between the University and the countries of the Far East which has continued for more than three quarters of a century. The University in 1885 was given the Chinese collection of textiles and art objects which aids in making Michigan a center for the study of Oriental civilization. The University has loaned specialists to China: Henry C. Adams to advise in problems of communication, and Howard B. Merrick, Clifton O. Carey, Hugh Brodie, Harry Bouchard, and a corps of other young engineering faculty men, to help solve the flood problems of the Pearl River.
From China has come a long line of students among whom have been many distinguished scholars and diplomats, leaders in education, and in government affairs. China, however, was not the first to avail itself of the opportunity for study made apparent to the East by President Angell's visit. Japan, with characteristic aggressiveness, moved first. Undoubtedly, President Angell's close friendship with the great Toyama had much to do with this.
Japanese students began to arrive at Michigan only two years after Angell's return; they came in substantial numbers for fifty years, and for at least the first half of that period Japanese education was greatly influenced by returning Michigan alumni. Toyama, especially, had a powerful influence on the shaping of the early educational policies of the Japanese government. As these educational systems and techniques developed,
