William Carey

William Carey was born in 1761 at Paulerspury in Northamptonshire and trained as a shoemaker, teaching himself Latin, Greek, Hebrew and other languages at his workbench. He became a Baptist pastor and in 1792 published An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians, to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens, arguing that the command to preach the gospel to all nations still applied. The same year he helped found the Baptist Missionary Society, and in 1793 he sailed for Bengal with his family. After years managing an indigo works, in 1800 he moved to the Danish settlement of Serampore, where with Joshua Marshman and William Ward he set up a mission, a press and later Serampore College. He translated the Bible, in whole or in part, into many Indian languages, taught Bengali and Sanskrit at Fort William College in Calcutta, studied botany, and campaigned against widow-burning, which was outlawed in 1829. His first wife, Dorothy, suffered severe mental illness in India. He died at Serampore in 1834. He is often called the father of modern Protestant missions.

William Carey is also an author in the library: author page and works.

Faith: Joined the Baptists in 1783 and became a missionary. Source: Dictionary of National Biography (1885–1900) (via Wikisource)