George Prentice
| George Prentice | |
|---|---|
| Born |
15 January 1871 Lanarkshire, Scotland |
| Died | 29 February 1948 (aged 77) Northern Rhodesia |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Occupation | Doctor, missionary |
Dr. George Prentice (1871–1948) is a Scottish missionary and served as a vicar for the Free Church of Scotland. He was of one the first to conduct missionary activities in southeastern Africa (modern-day Malawi) and was known for baptizing Malawi's first president, Hastings Banda when Banda was his student from 1908 to 1914.
Prentice was born in 1871 at Mid-Greenwell, near Carnwath in Lanarkshire to James and Christine Prentice (née Elder). His father worked as a farmer and owned 58 acres of land while his mother died in 1876. He spent his childhood living with his five brothers and sisters at Craigen House, Carnwath.
He moved to Edinburgh and was a medical student at the University of Edinburgh. Three years later, he was qualified as a doctor at the university and obtained a licentiate from both Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 1894.
He was ordained as a minister in 1894 by the Old Free Church of Scotland and moved to Africa to conduct missionary activities.
Prentice worked with Dr. Robert Scott, a Scottish when he first settled in Africa. In 1897, during his Africa's journey, he toured the northern parts of Luangwa valley, making contact with Senga people who lived in large stockaded villages surrounded by thorn trees and visited Kamanga and seeing evidence of the Swahili dwellings among the Bisa. According to a 1898 British Medical Registration record, he stayed at Loudon, Nyasaland.
Record also indicated that Prentice was in Kasungu in 1897 but had travelled to Bandawe. He opened seven schools in Kasungu after spending time there since 1897. He also established the Chilanga missionary station and was appointed head of the mission in October 1900 during his time in Kasungu.
During World War I, he joined as a Captain with the Column 3/1 King's African Rifles and was later transferred to Column 4/1 as a medical officer. On 19 May 1917, he was appointed as temporary Captain with the Nyasaland Field Force.
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