David Brown (1763–1812) was an English chaplain in
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
and founder of the Calcutta Bible Society.
Life
He was born in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
, and was educated first under private tuition at
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
, and then at a grammar school at Hull under
Joseph Milner. He entered
Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1782.
Brown did not take a degree, but was ordained deacon in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
in 1785, by
Richard Watson. He was appointed to a chaplaincy in Bengal.
Brown reached
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
in 1786, and was placed in charge of an orphanage. At the same time he was appointed chaplain to the brigade at
Fort William. In addition to these duties Brown took charge of the Old Mission Church of Calcutta.
That year he met
Charles Grant, and put together a "Proposal for Establishing a Protestant Mission in Bengal". It was passed to
Charles Simeon
Charles Simeon (24 September 1759 – 13 November 1836) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric.
Life and career
He was born at Reading, Berkshire, in 1759 and baptised at St Laurence's parish church on 24 October of that year. He was the ...
, and then to
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...
. Grant returned to Great Britain, and recruitment of
evangelical chaplains for India got under way. In 1788 Brown gave up the orphanage position, incompatible with his work as pastor at the Old Mission Church founded by
John Kiernander.
In 1794 Brown was appointed presidency chaplain. Among his close friends were
Henry Martyn
Henry Martyn (18 February 1781 – 16 October 1812) was an Anglican priest and missionary to the peoples of India and Persia. Born in Truro, Cornwall, he was educated at Truro Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge. A chance encount ...
,
Claudius Buchanan
Claudius Buchanan FRSE (12 March 1766 – 9 February 1815) was a Scottish theologian, an ordained minister of the Church of England, and an evangelical missionary for the Church Missionary Society. He served as Vice Provost of the College of C ...
, and
Thomas Thomason.
He became senior chaplain in 1797, when Thomas Blanshard left.
In 1803 Brown bought Aldeen House in
Serampore
Serampore (also called ''Serampur'', ''Srirampur'', ''Srirampore'', ''Shreerampur'', ''Shreerampore'', ''Shrirampur'' or ''Shrirampore'') is a city of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarter of the Srirampore ...
, and made it his home. The grounds included a deserted temple. At this time Serampore was a colony of
Danish India, and while the East India Company opposed missionary activity, the Lutheran Danish government was sympathetic, in particular to William Carey. Under the name the Pagoda, the abandoned
Radha-vallabha
The Radha Vallabh Sampradaya is a Vaishnava Hindu denomination which began in 1535 at Vrindavan with the bhakti poet- sant Hith Harivansh Mahaprabhu (1502–1552). Harivansh's views are related to Krishnaism but emphasizes devotion to Radharani ...
temple next to the
River Hooghly
The Bhagirathi Hooghly River (Anglicized alternatively spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') or the 'Bhāgirathi-Hooghly', called the Ganga or the Kati-Ganga in mythological texts, is the eastern distributary of the Ganges River in West Bengal, Indi ...
was used as an
oratory by Henry Martyn, who often stayed with Brown. Aldeen House became a place of meeting of Baptist missionaries such as Carey, and the group of evangelical Anglican chaplains in Bengal. While personal relations were good, there were also tensions: Brown opposed Baptist efforts with the Calcutta Benevolent Institution, a free school, and there was a power struggle within the Serampore mission.
Brown's health was failing in 1812. He embarked, for the benefit of sea air, in a vessel bound for
Madras, which was wrecked on the voyage down the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...
. The passengers and crew were rescued by another vessel and taken back to Calcutta.
Brown died on 14 June 1812, at the house in
Chowringhee
Chowringhee (also Chourangi) is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Chowringhee Road (officially Jawaharlal Nehru Road) runs on its western side. A neighbourhood steeped in history, it is a ...
of
John Herbert Harington
John Herbert Harington (12 March 1765 – 9 April 1828) was a British orientalist, colonial administrator and judge. He published a two-volume edition of the Arabic and Persian works of Saadi Shirazi.
Career
Harington was born on 12 March 1765, ...
, president of the Calcutta Bible Society set up in 1811, as he was the secretary.
Funeral sermons were preached by
Daniel Corrie
Daniel Corrie (10 April 1777 – 5 February 1837) was an English Anglican priest and bishop, the inaugural Bishop of Madras.
Corrie was born at Ardchattan, Argyll, Great Britain, the second son of John Corrie, a vicar in Lincolnshire. He was e ...
and Thomas Thomason.
Family
Brown married, first, a Miss Robinson of Hull, who died in 1794; and then in 1796, to Frances Cowley, daughter of
Hannah Cowley. On his death he left nine children.
Buchanan mentioned three sons, who had been schooled in languages.
The family received support from the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
, moved to London, and Frances Brown died in Bristol, in 1822. Brown's children were:
*Jane Grant (1792–1821), the only surviving child of the first marriage, married
Robert Merttins Bird
Robert Merttins Bird (1788–1853) was a British civil servant in the Bengal Presidency. He is known for the far-reaching "Mahalwari" tax reform.
Early life
He was the son of Robert and Lucy Bird of Taplow, Buckinghamshire; his younger brother Ed ...
in 1810 and remained in India.
*James Cowley Brown (died 1854), the eldest son, Bengal Civil Service
*
Charles Philip Brown
*
George Francis Brown of the Bengal Civil Service, writer in 1820, Magistrate and Collector of
Juanpore in 1831;
*Hannah Elizabeth, the second daughter, married
William Wilberforce Bird.
*Frances, died 1824 aged 1818.
*Ann Frushard (1804–1892), married the merchant Matthew Gisborne, son of
Thomas Gisborne
Thomas Gisborne (31 October 1758 – 24 March 1846) was an English Anglican priest and poet. He was a member of the Clapham Sect, who fought for the abolition of the slave trade in England.
Life
Gisborne was born at Bridge Gate, Derby, the ...
.
*Lydia Martyn, married in 1826 John Carysfort Proby, cleric and son of Baptist John Proby.
*Sarah Robinson, youngest daughter, married in 1831 George Merttins Bird.
Notes
External links
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, David
1762 births
1812 deaths
British East India Company civil servants
19th-century Anglican deacons
Clergy from Yorkshire
18th-century Anglican deacons