John Norman Pearson (1787–1865) of

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

was a prolific Victorian writer on religious subjects.

Life

Son of the surgeon John Pearson (1758–1826), born 7 December 1787, he was educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. There he gained the Hulsean prize in 1807. Pearson then took holy orders, and acted as chaplain to the

Marquess of Wellesley Earl of Mornington is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1760 for the Anglo-Irish politician and composer Garret Wellesley, 2nd Baron Mornington. On the death of the fifth earl in 1863, it passed to the Duke of Wellington; si ...

. In 1826 the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

appointed him the first principal of its newly founded missionary college at

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

. In 1839 he was appointed vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Tunbridge Wells, a position which he resigned in 1853. He then retired, doing occasional duty for the surrounding clergy, at Bower Hall, near Steeple Bumpstead in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, until his death in October 1865.

Works

Pearson's works were: * ''A Critical Essay on the Ninth Book of Warburton's Divine Legation of Moses'', Cambridge, 1808. * ''Christ Crucified; or some Remarkable Passages of the Sufferings of Our Lord Jesus Christ, devotionally and practically considered'', London, 1826. * ''Life of Archbishop Leighton'', prefixed to an edition of his ''Works'' in 1829. * ''The Candle of the Lord uncovered; or the Bible rescued from Papal Thraldom by the Reformation'', London, 1835. * ''The Faith and Patience of the Saints exhibited in the Narrative of the Sufferings and the Death … of I. Lefevere''; a new translation, 1839. * ''Psalms and Hymns chiefly designed for Public Worship'', London, 1840. * ''The Days in Paradise'', London, 1854. He also published several volumes of sermons.

Family

Pearson married Harriet, daughter of

Richard Puller Richard Puller (1747–1826) was a prominent English merchant banker in London. He has sometimes been identified as the pseudonymous economic writer Piercy Ravenstone, considered a precursor of Karl Marx; but scholarly sources generally now follo ...

of London, and sister of Sir

Christopher Puller Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει ...

, Chief Justice of Bengal, and Richard Puller the presumed pseudonymous "

Piercy Ravenstone Piercy Ravenstone was a pseudonym used by a nineteenth-century political economist whose work led him to being variously described as a socialist, a tory and as an institutionalist. His contribution was noted by David Ricardo and Karl Marx and br ...

". They had a numerous family. Among the sons were

Sir John Pearson, QC Sir John Pearson (5 August 1819 – 13 May 1886) was an English judge. Life Pearson studied at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, graduating B.A. in 1841, and M.A. in 1844; and was a called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1844. He was a jud ...

, and

Charles Henry Pearson Charles Henry Pearson (7 September 1830 – 29 May 1894) was a British-born Australian historian, educationist, politician and journalist. According to John Tregenza, "Pearson was the outstanding intellectual of the Australian colonies. A demo ...

References

;Attribution 1787 births 1865 deaths Alumni of the Church Missionary Society College, Islington English theologians Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People from Royal Tunbridge Wells People from Steeple Bumpstead {{UK-reli-bio-stub