Adoniram Judson

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Image:Adoniram judson.jpg Adoniram Judson (9 August 1788 - 12 April 1850) was an American Baptist missionary who labored for almost forty years in Burma (now known as Myanmar). Adoniram Judson was born on 9 August 1788 in Malden, Massachusetts, son of a Congregational minister. At the age of nineteen, he graduated from Rhode Island College (now Brown University) as valedictorian of his class. He then attended The Andover Theological Seminary, and later participated in the formation of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Judson was commissioned as a foreign missionary by the Congregational Church, and married Ann Hasseltine on 5 February 1812. In 6 September 1812, he switched to the Baptist denomination and was baptized in Calcutta, India. The following year, in 1813, he moved to Burma.

Adoniram Judson was imprisoned for 21 months during the war between England and Burma. In 24 October 1826, his wife Ann died at Amherst (now Kyaikkami), Burma. In 1834, he completed the Burmese translation of the Bible. In April of that same year, he married Sarah Hall Boardman, widow of fellow missionary George Boardman. Judson’s wife Sarah died at St. Helena, Burma on 1 September 1845. On 2 June 1846, Judson married for the third time, to writer Emily Chubbuck who he had commissioned to write memoirs for Sarah Hall Boardman. On 12 April 1850, Adoniram Judson died during an ocean voyage on the Bay of Bengal and was buried at sea.

After his conversion to Baptist views on baptism, Judson's offer to Baptists in the United States to serve as their missionary resulted in the formation of the General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States for Foreign Missions (commonly called the Triennial Convention) in 1814.

Inside the campus of Yangon University is Judson Church, named in his honor. Also the men's camp at Christian Youth Conference (CYC) is named in his honor.

Judson compiled the first ever Burmese-English dictionary. Before he started this work, he studied Burmese literature for three years. Then he compiled a Pāli to Burmese dictionary and a Burmese grammar. After his death, missionary E. A. Steven finished Judson's dictionary work. He brought the first Gutenberg press for printing in Moulmein.

External links

• Life and Work of Judson
• SBHLA bio of Judson
• Judson College
• Online Burmese Bible
• Adoniram Judson at Find-A-Grave
• Judson Memorial Baptist Church Lansing, MI
• Memorial Church in NY to Adoniram Judson

References

• Dictionary of Baptists in America, Bill J. Leonard, editor
• Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists, Norman W. Cox, editor
• To The Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson, by Courtney Anderson, 1987
• Burmese Encyclopedia: Vol 12, p-444, printed in 1966.

{{Persondata |NAME=Judson, Adoniram |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION=American missionary |DATE OF BIRTH=1788-08-09 |PLACE OF BIRTH=Malden, Massachusetts |DATE OF DEATH=1850-04-12 |PLACE OF DEATH=Bay of Bengal }}sv:Adoniram Judson