Thomas Valpy French
|
Rev. Thomas Valpy French |
|
|---|---|
| Lahore | |
Missionary to India, Pakistan and Persia
|
|
| Diocese | Lahore |
| Installed | 1877 |
| Term ended | 1887 |
| Predecessor | First |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
25 January 1825 Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England |
| Died | 14 May 1891 (aged 66) Muscat, Oman |
| Buried | Muscat, Oman |
| Denomination | Anglican Communion |
| Parents | Rev. Peter French |
| Alma mater | University College, Oxford |
Thomas Valpy French (1 January 1825 – 14 May 1891) was an English Christian Missionary in India and Persia, who became the first Bishop of Lahore, in 1877, and also founded the St. John's College, Agra, in 1853.
After Henry Martyn, he is considered the second most important Christian missionary to the Middle East.
Thomas Valpy French was born on New Year's Day in 1825, in Abbey, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. His father, the Rev. Peter French, was vicar of Holy Trinity Church for forty-seven years, and he grew up in the house, which was once part of the Benedictine Abbey, on the banks of the River Trent.
He started his schooling at Reading Grammar School, and at age fourteen, he joined the Rugby School. In 1843, he won a scholarship to Oxford and started studying at the University College, Oxford, where he was made a fellow in 1848. It was at Oxford that he first felt called to mission in India.
On 16 April 1850 he joined the missionary service of Church Missionary Society, and was sent to Agra, India. He set sail to India on East Indian Queen on 11 September 1850 and reached Calcutta on 2 January 1851.
Soon he headed off to Agra, where he was appointed for educational work. He founded the St. John's College at Agra, which formally opened in 1853, though he had started taking classes in small room with ten boys, while the college building was being built. The college was named as St. John's, after the college of another noted missionary, Henry Martyn (1781–1812) at Cambridge. He also learnt seven languages, including Hindustani, Punjabi, Urdu, Persian, Pashto and Arabic to properly administrate the school, as he also became school's first principal, and a post he held till the end of his seven-year stay at Agra.
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