Nathan Brown ( as, নাথান ব্ৰাউন; 22 June 1807 – 1 January 1886) was an American

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

missionary to

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 ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, Bible translator, and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

. He is noted for his works on Assamese language, grammar and script. In around 1843, based in

Sibsagar Sivasagar (Pron: or ) ("the sea of Shiva"), is a city in and headquarters of the Sivasagar district, Assam. Sivasagar is situated about 360 kilometers (224 mi) northeast of Guwahati. It is well known for its Ahom palaces and monuments. Si ...

, he began translating the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

into Assamese or ''Amar Trankôrta Yisu Khristôr Nôtun Niyôm'' () which he published in 1848. In 1854, he published another book titled meaning roughly ''Jesus Christ and his Holy Messages''. He also translated prayers alongside his other missionary colleagues. His work ''Grammatical Notices of the Assamese Language'' was published by the American Baptist Mission Press in 1848. In 1846, with his colleague

Oliver Cutter Oliver may refer to: Arts, entertainment and literature Books * ''Oliver the Western Engine'', volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry * '' Oliver Twist'', a novel by Charles Dickens Fictional characters * Ariadne Oliver ...

, he published ''

Orunodoi ''Orunodoi'' or ''Arunodoi'' (Assamese language, Assamese: অৰুণোদই, English language, English: "Sunrise") was the first Assamese-language magazine published monthly from Sibsagar, Assam, in 1846. The magazine created a new era in ...

'' (), the first Assamese periodical. He also published works of contemporary and historical Assamese scholars, to name a few ''Ôxôm Burônzi'' (''History of Assam'', ) by Kashinath Phukan in 1844, ''Kitabôt Mônzôri'' (''Mathematics'', in Assamese verse, ) in two parts, ''Lilawôti'' and ''Pôdgônit'' by

Bakul Kayastha Bakul Kayastha (born c. 1400) was a mathematician from Kamrup. He was especially known for his masterpiece in the field of mathematics named ''Kitabat Manjari,'' written in 1434, and ''Lilavati''. ''Kitabat Manjari'' is a poetical treatise on ...

in 1845, and ''Sutiya Burônzi'' () in 1850, as well as others. In

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, Brown is considered to be a pioneer and champion of the native language and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Early life and missions to Burma and Assam

Born in

New Ipswich, New Hampshire New Ipswich is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,204 at the 2020 census. New Ipswich, situated on the Massachusetts border, includes the villages of Bank, Davis, Gibson Four Corners, Highbridge, New ...

, he attended

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

, where he graduated first in his class. He and his wife, whom he married in 1830, went on to serve as missionaries 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 ...

. Brown's original intention had been to translate the Bible into Burmese, but he soon found himself pulled into a mission along with Oliver Cutter and

Miles Bronson Miles Bronson (1812–1883), was one of the first American Baptist Churches USA, American Baptist missionaries who worked in the state of Assam in northeastern India. Mission Work Assam Bronson arrived at Sadiya in Assam on July 8, 1838. Previo ...

in the

n region of

. In 1848, Brown published an Assamese grammar, followed by an Assamese translation of the

. He found that the Assamese Bible published by William Carey from the

Serampore Mission Press The Serampur Mission Press was a book and newspaper publisher that operated in Serampur, Danish India, from 1800 to 1837. The Press was founded by William Carey, William Ward, and other British Baptist missionaries at the Serampur Mission. It b ...

(1832), in circulation at the time, consisted of Bengali and Sanskrit loan words, so it was idiomatically inadequate. Therefore, he undertook (together with Carey's old colleague Pandit Atmaram Sharma) the project of translating the New Testament into pure and simple Assamese. From 1836 to 1873,

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

and

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

policy subsumed Assamese under the heading of Bengali. The language regained recognition in part due to Assamese publications edited by Brown, including an Assamese-English dictionary and an Assamese grammar book, as well as his association with

Hemchandra Barua Hemchandra Barua ( as, হেমচন্দ্ৰ বৰুৱা; ''Hêmsôndrô Bôruwa''), also known as Hem Barua was a prominent writer, social reformer of Assamese of the 19th century. He hailed from Sibsagar District of Assam. His fat ...

, who was taught at Brown's school.

Abolitionism

In 1850 Brown returned to America to join his brother William in the growing abolitionist movement. In his satirical work ''Magnus Maharba and the Dragon'', an account of the battle against slavery, Rev. Brown used the pen name ''Kristofer Kadmus''. This shows that he truly identified with the character in Greek Mythology that his life so paralleled.

Cadmus In Greek mythology, Cadmus (; grc-gre, Κάδμος, Kádmos) was the legendary Phoenician founder of Boeotian Thebes. He was the first Greek hero and, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon, the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the da ...

was best known as a traveller and vector of culture and ideas. His journey in search of his lost sister

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliff ...

led to importation of the idea of

alphabet An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syll ...

into Greece. In myth, Cadmus killed a

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

that prevented mortals from reaching a sacred spring. He planted the dragon's teeth on the spot; they sprouted into armies that fought nearly to death, with the survivors building the city of learning. The " haystack missionaries", including Nathan Brown, associated the account of the introduction of the Greek alphabet with the New Testament creation, and the idea of creating local alphabets for every language was an important first step towards the goal of a Bible translation for every language. The

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...

es and schools of these missions also became a vehicle for empowerment of local language and culture. Following his return from Assam to

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

in 1848, Nathan Brown joined the abolitionist movement, delivering anti-slavery sermons in Boston. This struggle eventually resulted in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Many proponents of the anti-slavery movement had to deal with the bloody results of their efforts in a personal struggle of conscience. Rev. Brown dealt with the question of violent means in ''Magnus Maharba''.

Missionary to the Japanese

After the war, in 1868, Brown turned his attention to the newly accessible Japan, at first by interacting with the students that Japan was sending to the Bridgeport Academy and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

for education in

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

culture and technology. This cultural exchange was a two way process. Rev. Brown published another satire showing America as seen through the eyes of one of these Japanese students, which was sharply critical of New England's

materialism Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materiali ...

, in place of

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

. One exchange student, for whom Nathan Brown wrote a letter of reference to the Bridgeport Academy, eventually became an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

in the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

. Brown's first wife died in 1871, and in 1872, having married again, he returned to overseas missionary work, this time traveling to Japan to join

Jonathan Goble The Reverend Jonathan Goble (1827–1897) was an American Free Baptist minister and missionary in Yokohama, Japan. He travelled with Matthew C. Perry to Japan in 1853. While there, he learned the Japanese language. He returned as the first Baptis ...

, the first Baptist missionary to that country. The two collaborated to construct the first Japanese Baptist church (First Baptist Church of Yokohama) in 1873. Brown also worked with Japanese scholar T. Kawakatsu to produce a

Japanese-language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been m ...

Bible based on what were then the oldest known

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

manuscripts; he would go on to print thousands of

Hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" originally as contrast ...

copies for distribution print versions (with the goal of access to the Bible by less educated persons who might not understand

Kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

). Brown died in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

in 1886.

References

External links

* * Brown, Nathan.
Grammatical Notices of the Asamese Language
'. (Sibsagor: American Baptist Mission Press, 1848). * Brown, Nathan.
The Histori Ov Magnus Maha'rba and the Blak Dragun
'. (New York, 1866). * Brown, Nathan.
Utato Fuçi: Hymns and Tunes in Japanese
'. (Yokohama: F.R. Wetmore & Co., 1876). * Brown, Elizabeth W.
The Whole World Kin: A Pioneer Experience Among Remote Tribes, and Other Labors of Nathan Brown
'. (Philadelphia: Hubbard Brothers, 1890).

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Nathan 1807 births 1886 deaths 19th-century American translators 19th-century Baptists 19th-century lexicographers Activists from New Hampshire American abolitionists American expatriates in India American expatriates in Japan American lexicographers American satirists Baptist abolitionists Baptist missionaries from the United States Baptist missionaries in India Baptist missionaries in Japan Baptist missionaries in Myanmar Creators of writing systems Missionary linguists People from New Ipswich, New Hampshire Translators of the Bible into Assamese Translators of the Bible into Japanese Williams College alumni

Early life and missions to Burma and Assam

Abolitionism

Missionary to the Japanese

See also

References

External links