[1][2] John Merle Davis was born on 1 October 1875 in Kyoto, the son of American Congregationalist missionaries.
He started doctoral studies in Germany, intending to return to Japan to teach.
In 1923-4 he investigated anti-Japanese feeling in California, leading to his involvement in the Institute of Pacific Relations.
In 1929 he became founding director of the IMC's Department of Economic and Social Research and Counsel, and worked there until retirement in 1949.
He travelled extensively to visit new churches, and wrote reports on the Copperbelt, Sumatra, the Caribbean and South America.