Background
Born May 22, 1857 in Saint Louis, Missouri, son of James McDonald and Margaret McCartney (Gordon) Gardiner.
Born May 22, 1857 in Saint Louis, Missouri, son of James McDonald and Margaret McCartney (Gordon) Gardiner.
Harvard University.
Educated at Hackensack Academy and Harvard University graduating in 1879. Gardiner first came to Japan in 1880 and designed numerous school, church and private residential buildings while in the country. Besides Saint Agnes Cathedral (Kyoto), other buildings of note designed by Gardiner and still preserved in Japan include Saint John"s Church, Kyoto (1907), now in the historic building collection at Meiji-mura, and the former residence of Sadatsuchi Uchida, known as The Diplomat"s House (1910), since 1995 a feature of the Italian Garden park in Yamate, Yokohama.
Married Florence Rhodes Pitman, Principal of Saint Margaret"s School for Girls, Tokyo in 1882.
Three children. Eldest daughter, Hasu no Hana, married Episcopal missionary, Shirley Hall Nichols in 1916. In 1925 Nichols was elected to serve as the Episcopal Bishop of Kyoto.