BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

of
JOSHUA MARSHMAN

 Joshua Marshman, D. D., was born at Westbury Leigh, Wiltshire, England, April
20, 1768. He received such education as the village school afforded, and eagerly perused
all the books that came within his reach. His love of reading was so notorious, that when
he proposed to join the Baptist church, the members were afraid he had too much head
knowledge of the gospel to have much heart experience of it, but their apprehensions in
time passed away. In 1794 he removed to Bristol to take charge of a school supported by
the Broadmead Baptist church, and was soon afterwards baptized and received into
church fellowship. He joined the classes of the theological seminary, and for upwards of
five years studied the classics, and also Hebrew and Syriac. 1

Through the periodical accounts of the Baptist Missionary Society he came to

know about William Carey’s work in India and volunteered to join him. Becoming inter-
ested in Dr. Carey’s work in India, he and his wife, in 1799, offered themselves for mis-
sionary service, and sailed May 29, for India. They landed at Serampore October 13, and
the mission was established there, Dr. and Mrs. Marshman opening a boarding-school to
aid them in the prosecution of their work.

In 1806, Dr. Marshman commenced the study of the Chinese language for the
purpose of translating the Scriptures into that tongue. In 1814, he published his Key to
the Chinese Language, and in fifteen years from the time he commenced his study of the
language he completed the publication of the first portion of the Scriptures in the Chinese
language, consisting of the book of Genesis, the four Gospels, and Paul’s Epistles to the
Romans and Corinthians.2

In a prospectus written by Joshua Marshman and issued by William Carey, Joshua

Marshman and William Ward proposed a college for the instruction of Asiatic, Christian
and other youth of Eastern Literature and European Science. To meet the
demand serampore college was established on 5 July 1818. But the shortage of fund
hampered its academic programmme. To solve the problem Marshman went back to
England in 1826 and then visited Denmark. He succeeded to manage a Charter of
Incorporation from the Danish king Frederick VI to the Serampore College. In May 1829
he returned to India and with the help of the Royal grant he along with his associate
William Carey made the mission in operation.3

Joshua Marshman was awarded the honourary degree of Doctor of Divinity in

1811 by the Brown University, Rhode Island. He died at Serampore on 5 December 1837
Among of his publications we’re Dissertation on the Characters and Sounds of the Chi-
nese Language, 1809 The Works of Confucius, Containing the Original Text, with a
Translation, 1811 A Defence of the Deity and Atonement of Jesus Christ, 1822
Sanskrit Grammar, with Henry Carey Bengalee and English Dictionary, with Henry Car-
ey.

Submitted to: Erika Pangamte

By: Saimon Molsom B Th. III

1
http://baptisthistoryhomepage.com/marshmans.joshua.john.
2
http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/m/a/r/s/marshman_j.
3
https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Marshman,_Joshua