Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

HENRY MARTYN (r781-1812)

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V17, Page 804 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

HENRY See also:MARTYN (r781-1812)  , See also:English missionary to See also:India, was See also:born on the 18th of See also:February 1781, at See also:Truro, See also:Cornwall . His See also:father, See also:John See also:Martyn, was a " See also:captain " or mine-See also:agent at Gwennap . The lad was educated at Truro See also:grammar school under Dr Cardew, entered St John's See also:College, See also:Cambridge, in the autumn of 1797, and was See also:senior wrangler and first See also:Smith's prizeman in 18o1 . In 1802 he was chosen a See also:fellow of his college . He had intended to go to the See also:bar, but in the See also:October See also:term of 1802 he chanced to hear See also:Charles See also:Simeon speaking of the See also:good done in India by a single missionary, See also:William See also:Carey, and some See also:time afterwards he read the See also:life of See also:David See also:Brainerd, the apostle of the See also:Indians of See also:North See also:America . He resolved, accordingly, to become a See also:Christian missionary . On the 22nd of October, 1803, he was ordained See also:deacon at See also:Ely, and afterwards See also:priest, and served as Simeon's See also:curate at the See also:church of See also:Holy Trinity, taking See also:charge of the neighbouring See also:parish of Lolworth . He was about to offer his services to the Church Missionary Society, when a disaster in Cornwall deprived him and his unmarried See also:sister of the See also:provision their father had made for them, and rendered it necessary that he should obtain a See also:salary that would support her as well as himself . He accordingly obtained a chaplaincy under the See also:East India See also:Company and See also:left for India on the 5th of See also:July 1805 . For some months he was stationed at Aldeen, near See also:Serampur; in October 18o6 he proceeded to See also:Dinapur, where he was soon able to conduct See also:worship among the natives in the See also:vernacular, and established See also:schools . In See also:April 1809 he was transferred to See also:Cawnpore, where he preached in his own See also:compound, in spite of interruptions and threats . He occupied himself in linguistic study, and had already, during his See also:residence at Dinapur, beenengaged in revising the sheets of his See also:Hindostani version of the New Testament .

He now translated the whole of the New Testament into See also:

Hindi also, and into See also:Persian twice . He translated the See also:Psalms into Persian, the Gospels into Judaeo-Persic, and the See also:Prayer-See also:book into Hindostani, in spite of See also:ill-See also:health and " the See also:pride, pedantry and fury of his See also:chief See also:munshi Sabat." Ordered by the doctors to take a See also:sea voyage, he obtained leave to go to See also:Persia and correct his Persian New Testament, whence he wished to go to See also:Arabia, and there compose an Arabic version . Accordingly, on the 1st of October 181o, having seen his See also:work at Cawnpore crowned on the previous See also:day by the opening of a church, he left for See also:Calcutta, whence he sailed on the 7th of See also:January 1811, for Bombay, which he reached on his thirtieth birthday . From Bombay he set out for See also:Bushire, bearing letters from See also:Sir John See also:Malcolm to men of position there, as also at See also:Shiraz and See also:Isfahan . After an exhausting See also:journey from the See also:coast he reached Shiraz, and was soon plunged into discussion with the disputants of all classes, " Sufi, See also:Mahommedan, See also:Jew, and Jewish-Mahommedan, even Armenian, all anxious to test their See also:powers of See also:argument with the first English priest who had visited them." Having made an unsuccessful journey to See also:Tabriz to See also:present the shah with his See also:translation of the New Testament, he was seized with See also:fever, and after a temporary recovery, had to seek a See also:change of See also:climate . On the 12th of See also:September 1812, he started with two Armenian servants, crossed the Araxes, rode from Tabriz to See also:Erivan, from Erivan to See also:Kars, from Kars to See also:Erzerum,. from Erzerum to Chiflik, urged on from See also:place to place by a thoughtless Tatar See also:guide, and, though the See also:plague was raging at See also:Tokat (near Eski-Shehr in See also:Asia See also:Minor), he was compelled by prostration to stop there . On the 6th of October he died . See also:Macaulay's youthful lines, written See also:early in 1813, testify to the impression made by his career . His See also:Journals and Letters were published by See also:Samuel See also:Wilberforce in 1837 . See also Lives by John See also:Sargent (1819; new ed . 1885), and G . Smith (1892) ; and The Church Quarterly See also:Review (Oct .

1881) .

End of Article: HENRY MARTYN (r781-1812)
[back]
CHRISTINO MARTOS (183o-1893)
[next]
JOHN MARTYN (1699-1768)

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click and select "copy." Paste it into a website, email, or other HTML document.