Ola Hanson (June 25, 1864 in

Åhus Åhus () is the second largest locality in Kristianstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 9,840 inhabitants in 2015, but the number triples during the summer due to tourists who come seeking the beaches and nature of the Helgeå and H ...

, Sweden – October 17, 1929 in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

) was a Swedish-American missionary who worked with the Kachin people in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. Hanson came to the United States in 1881, settling in

Oakland, Nebraska Oakland is a city in Burt County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,244 at the 2010 census. Oakland continues to build on its strong foundation with its bi-annual Swedish Festival and is known by its proclamation from the Swedish Con ...

. He attended the Swedish Baptist (later Bethel) Seminary in

, graduated from Madison Theological Seminary in

Hamilton, New York Hamilton is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,690 at the 2010 census. The town is named after American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. The Town of Hamilton contains a village also named Hamilton, the s ...

, and was ordained in 1890. Hanson was sent to

Kachin State Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...

in 1890 by the

American Baptist Missionary Union International Ministries is an international Baptist Christian missionary society. It is a constituent board affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. The headquarters is in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, United States. History The soc ...

to help

William Henry Roberts William Henry Roberts (25 October 1847 – 24 December 1919) was a Baptist minister from the United States who worked for many years as a missionary in Burma. Biography Roberts was born on 25 October 1847, in Botetourt Springs, Virginia. He stud ...

, who was running a Kachin mission in

Bhamo Bhamo ( my, ဗန်းမော်မြို့ ''ban: mau mrui.'', also spelt Banmaw; shn, မၢၼ်ႈမူဝ်ႇ; tdd, ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥨᥝᥱ; zh, 新街, Hsinkai) is a city in Kachin State in northern Myanmar, south of the ...

city, and was followed in 1892 by George J. Geis, who established a mission at

Myitkyina Myitkyina (, ; (Eng; ''mitchinar'') Jinghpaw: ''Myitkyina'', ) is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar (Burma), located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and Myitkyina is on the west bank of the ...

. His team formulated an orthography for the Kachin language using the Latin alphabet, and created a grammar and Katchin–English dictionary. He then began translating the Bible into Kachin. Hanson established a mission in

Namkham Namhkam ( my, နမ့်ခမ်းမြို့; shn, ၼမ်ႉၶမ်း; tdd, ᥘᥛᥳ ᥑᥛᥰ), also spelled Nam Kham is the principal town of Namhkam Township in northern Shan State, Myanmar, situated on the southern bank of th ...

in the Hsenwi District in 1910. He wrote ''The Kachins, Their Customs and Traditions'' (Rangoon, 1913) and ''Missionary Pioneers among the Kachins'' (New York, 1922). After living with the Kachin people for 28 years, he returned to his native Nebraska in 1928. He died in St. Paul, Minnesota, on October 17, 1929.https://kachinblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/dr-ola-hanson-06.html

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, Ola People from Oakland, Nebraska Baptist missionaries from the United States Swedish Baptist missionaries Baptist missionaries in Myanmar 1929 deaths 1864 births American expatriates in Myanmar Swedish emigrants to the United States 19th-century Baptists 20th-century Baptists People from Kristianstad Municipality Linguists from the United States 19th-century linguists 20th-century linguists Missionary linguists