William Carey
William Carey (born August 17, 1761 in Paulerspury ( Northamptonshire , Great Britain ), † June 9, 1834 in Serampur today Serampore near Calcutta ( India )) was an English botanist and missionary and founder of the Baptist Missionary Society . Its official botanical author abbreviation is " Carey ".
Beginnings
William Carey came from a family of weavers in Northampton and initially learned the craft of a shoemaker. After a conscious change to Christianity , he joined a Baptist church in 1783 . She appointed him pastor in 1785 .
Founder of the Baptist Missionary Society
As an autodidact, Carey first learned the so-called ancient languages ( Hebrew , ancient Greek and Latin ). He was particularly interested in the expeditions of the 18th century. Above all, it was James Cook's voyage to the South Seas that made him want to “ bring the gospel to the distant pagans ”. He presented his ideas at a church conference, but was rejected.
In 1786 he wrote his famous work An Inquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of Heathens . It was the initial spark for the establishment of the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS), the first non-governmental missionary society of modern times, whose first director was Andrew Fuller . Carey's sermon on May 30, 1792 about Isaiah (54.2f) finally led to the actual establishment of the missionary society, which took place on October 2, 1792 in Northampton. In the sermon mentioned there was also the sentence that became the motto of the BMS: “ Expect great things from God and do great things for God! "
Missionary in the East Indies
In 1793, William Carey and his family embarked on a tall ship to serve as the first missionaries of the BMS. Carey's destination was the British colony of British India , more precisely today's Bengal . However, according to the statute of the British East India Company could not be a missionary to "British" floor, Carey took a job as a manager of an indigo plantation in Mudnabati on. He initially hired himself there as a farm laborer and initially lived with his family under difficult conditions. His child died. As a result, his wife fell ill with severe psychosis , from which she never recovered.
Professor, linguist, Bible translator
Around 1800 Carey settled in Serampur , known as Frederiksnagore as a Danish colony . Two other missionaries, William Ward and Josua Marshman , had been sent out by the BMS to support him and had already settled there that year.
As a non-academic, Carey received a professorship for Bengali at the College Fort William in Calcutta, where he mainly taught young English civil servants in the national language.
Carey also made a special contribution as a linguist. He edited several ancient Indian scripts and wrote grammars , textbooks and dictionaries for Bengali. In total Carey learned about 40 languages as an autodidact, into which he then mainly translated the Bible and parts of the Bible. He translated the entire Bible into six Indian languages alone.
School founder
Between 1818 and 1821 Carey and his colleagues built up the Sirampur Theological Seminary , where local missionary workers were trained. In addition, he founded an elementary school, which became the model for the school system in India. He also founded the first newspaper in the East Indian language.
As a botanist Carey also made a name. He laid out a large botanical test site to research the Indian flora and fauna.
Human rights activist
Carey, like Ram Mohan Roy, campaigned for the abolition of traditional traditions, and thanks to his now strong influence on colonial policy, he succeeded in law banning the murder of girls, which is traditional in Indian families, in 1829. He was also passionate about the so-called widow burning ; In 1832 it was also banned by law.
In 1827 Carey separated from the Baptist Missionary Society , but shortly before his death decreed that all of his work should be inherited by her.
Honor taxon
In his honor, the genus Careya Roxb. and the epithet of the species Planchonia careya (F.Muell.) R.Knuth in the plant family of the potted fruit trees (Lecythidaceae).
Works (selection)
- An Inquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens , 1792. (facsimile edition, London 1961)
Literature (selection)
- John Clark Marshman: The Life and Times of Carey , London 1859
- James Culross: William Carey , London 1881
- G. Schott: William Carey, the father of the current missionary movement , 1915
- Benjamin Schmidt: William Carey, the Missionary Pioneer in India , 1922
- Stephan v. Bohr: From shoemaker to missionary and linguist. A Missionary Story , 1928
- Günter Wieske: William Carey. A Free Church Leader calls Christians to world missions , in: Ecumenical Profiles. Bridge builder of one church , ed. v. Günter Gloede, I, 1961, p. 138 ff.
- John Browne Myers: William Carey, the shoemaker, the "father and founder of the newer pagan mission". Translated from the English by Isabella Mundhenk. JG Oncken, Hamburg 1893.
- William Carey - Departure to India , radio play book with CD, Hännsler, 2013, ISBN 3-7751-5491-4
Individual evidence
- ^ WM Carey . (English)
- ↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names . Extended Edition. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Free University Berlin Berlin 2018. [1]
Web links
- Literature by and about William Carey in the catalog of the German National Library
- Author entry and list of described plant names for William Carey at the IPNI
- Directory of Carey's Internet biographies (in English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Carey, William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English botanist, Baptist pastor and missionary, founder of the Baptist Missionary Society |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 17th August 1761 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Paulerspury Northamptonshire , UK |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 9, 1834 |
| Place of death | Serampur today Serampore near Calcutta , India |