Grace Bauer was an American missionary and medical technician who dedicated over two decades of her life to service in China. As one of only five United Christian Missionary Society missionaries who stayed in Nanjing during the harrowing Nanjing Massacre—also known as the Rape of Nanking—in December 1937 and January 1938, Bauer played a vital role in humanitarian and medical relief efforts.

Born on January 20, 1896, in Baltimore, Maryland, Bauer was a member of the Christian Temple congregation. She pursued medical training as a laboratory technician at Howard A. Kelly Hospital in Baltimore, where she worked for three years. In 1919, she met with Dr. John Williams, president of the University of Nanjing and a staff member at Drum Tower Hospital, to discuss opportunities for medical missionary work sponsored by the Churches of Christ.

Later that same year, Bauer traveled to Nanjing, where she began her service at Drum Tower Hospital. She was tasked with training local laboratory technicians and overseeing the hospital’s lab department. In addition to her medical work, she took on administrative and teaching responsibilities at Drum Tower Church.

During the brutal occupation of Nanjing by Japanese forces, Bauer helped keep Drum Tower Hospital operational by managing its finances and supporting overall hospital operations. In the aftermath of the city’s fall, she sourced and distributed food to both patients and displaced civilians.

Bauer remained in Nanjing until October 1941, when she returned to the U.S. She resumed her work as a lab technician at the University Hospital in Baltimore, where she remained until retirement. Grace Bauer died on July 29, 1976.