Reverend Henry Bower (1812–1885) was an

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The '' Oxford English ...

missionary of the

Society of the Propagation of the Gospel United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is a United Kingdom-based charitable organization (registered charity no. 234518). It was first incorporated under Royal Charter in 1701 as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Part ...

who was known for his scholarship over

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Early life

Bower was born in 1812 in an Anglo-Indian family in Madras. He was educated at the

Vepery Vepery is a suburb in the north of Chennai, India. Abutting the transportation hub of Park Town, the neighbourhood covers a rectangular area north of the Poonamallee High Road. History Vepery is among those oldest neighbourhoods developed duri ...

(formerly Veperi) seminary. After completing his schooling, he was employed as a catechist by the Wesleyan Missionary Society. In 1838, he was appointed Assistant Missionary in the Madras mission. Bower was ordained deacon in 1843 and priest in 1845. Bower preached at

Tanjore Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the ...

from 1844 to 1846, Vediarpuram from 1846 to 1857, Madras from 1857 to 1875 and 1878 to 1884 and Kumbakonam from 1875 to 1878.

Writings

At an early stage in his life, Bower attained mastery over Tamil. He was the principal Tamil examiner of the

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

. Bower translated Tom Butler's anthology, Pearson on the Creed, a Biblical and Theological Dictionary, Lectures on the Moral Law, the History of Christianity in India, and other works into Tamil. He revised the Tamil Bible with the assistance of E. Sundaram Pillai, an Indian Christian.

Death

Bower retired in 1884 and was given a pension. He died in 1885 at

Palayamkottai Palayamkottai (also Palayankottai) is a neighbourhood in Tirunelveli City, incorporated within the Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation. It is situated on the east bank of the Thamirabarani river, with the exception of its downtown area, wh ...

(formerly Palayankottah).

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bower, Henry 1812 births 1885 deaths British Anglican missionaries Tamil scholars of non-Tamil background Indian Anglican missionaries Anglican missionaries in India Missionary linguists