| Administrative History | Reverend Henry Martyn (1781-1812) was born in Truro and went up to St John's College, Cambridge in 1897 where he came under the influence of Charles Simeon, Vicar of Holy Trinity Church who had been instrumental in founding the Society for Missions to Africa and the East (later CMS). In 1802 Martyn was ordained into the Church of England and appointed as chaplain with the East India Company. At the same time he was pursuing studies in Persian and Arabic texts as well as learning Indian languages, including Urdu and Hindustani. He left for India in July 1805 and served in Calcutta, Patna and Cawnpore. Martyn was still anxious to do missionary work and was encouraged by the reversal of policy of the East India Company in 1810 which allowed, for the first time, missionaries into the areas under its control. Not only did he undertake missionary work but also translated the New Testament and Book of Psalms into Persian and the New Testament into Arabic and Urdu. He died in 1812 on a journey through Armenia and Turkey heading towards Constantinople.
Source: http://www.mundus.ac.uk/ (accessed 28 Feb 2007) |
| Custodial History | Deposited with the CMS in February 1988 and transferred to the Special Collections Department in 2005 |