George Bennet (16 April 1774 – 13 November 1841) was an English missionary from

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. He travelled widely in Asia.

Life

Bennet was a Congregationalist organiser in Sheffield. In 1821 he set out with

Daniel Tyerman Daniel Tyerman (19 November 1773 – 30 July 1828) was an English missionary. Biography Tyerman was born on 19 November 1773 at Clack farm, near Osmotherley, North Yorkshire, where his parents had resided for some time. In 1790 he obtained emplo ...

, supported financially by the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...

. They travelled together to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Bennet stopped in

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

during his Pacific voyage. He was impressed by the garden and aviary of opium trader

Thomas Beale Thomas Beale (c. 1775–1841) was a Scottish naturalist, opium speculator and general merchant operating in the Far East during the 19th century. Biography Thomas was the younger brother of Daniel Beale and the cousin of Thomas Chaye Beale ...

, devoting 45 pages of his travelogue to them. Bennet and Tyerman made an extended stay in

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

, and Bennet's letters from there were published in the ''

Sheffield Iris The ''Sheffield Iris'' was an early weekly newspaper published on Tuesdays James Montgomery, John Holland and James Everett, ''Memoirs of the Life and Writings of James Montgomery'' in Sheffield, England. The first newspaper to be published in S ...

'' by James Montgomery. Tyerman died in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, where they had set up missions with the support of King

Radama I Radama I "the Great" (1793–1828) was the first Malagasy sovereign to be recognized as King of Madagascar (1810–1828) by a European state. He came to power at the age of 18 following the death of his father, King Andrianampoinimerina. Under Ra ...

. After his voyage Bennet gave historical artifacts that he had collected to the London

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

. He died in London on 13 November 1841. He is buried with an inscribed monument in his memory in

Sheffield General Cemetery The General Cemetery in the City of Sheffield, England opened in 1836 and closed for burial in 1978. It was the principal cemetery in Victorian Sheffield with over 87,000 burials. Today it is a listed Landscape (Grade II*) on the English Herit ...

References

English Congregationalist missionaries Congregationalist missionaries in China Congregationalist missionaries in India Congregationalist missionaries in French Polynesia Congregationalist missionaries in Madagascar British expatriates in French Polynesia British expatriates in Madagascar British expatriates in China 1774 births 1841 deaths {{UK-reli-bio-stub