John Robert Morrison
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Robert Morrison (馬儒翰; 1814 - October, 1843) was the son from Robert Morrison's first marriage with Mary Morton. He was a translator, diplomat and missionary in Canton City and Hong Kong. He was the first Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong and he has been participate in negotiation of the Treaty of Nanking.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
He was born in Macao and educated in Europe. He learnt Chinese language from his father, and attended the Anglo-Chinese College in Malacca in 1827 - 1830.
[edit] Career
He had been a translator for English merchants in the Canton City, China from 1830. In 1832, he accompanied Edmund Roberts, a merchant and diplomat of United States of America, to Siam and Cochin China and establisted trade treaties. He compiled the Chinese Commercial Guide, which provided information on British trader in China.
He succeeded his father in 1834 and was appointed Chinese Secretary to the British East India Company on behalf of British government. He then involved in the diplomacy amist the opium wars from 1839 - 1842. In the negotiations, the Treaty of Nanking was formed.
The Government of Hongkong formed after the treaty and he became a member of the Legislative Council and Executive Council, and the first Colonial Secretary of the government under Sir Henry Pottinger.
[edit] Missionary
Apart from official duties, he continued his father's work of the English Protestant Church in Canton and supported those Chinese converts persecuted by the Chinese authorities. He revised his father's translation of the Bible and appeal to the London Missionary Society to continue the missionary work in Canton. In February 1838 he was made Recording Secretary of the Medical Missionary Society. He died young in the autumn of 1843 from malarial fever without marriage.
[edit] See also
- List of Protestant missionaries in China
- 19th Century Protestant Missions in China
- Christianity in China
[edit] External links
| New Creation | Colonial Secretary of Hongkong 1843-1844 |
Succeeded by: Sir Frederick William Adolphus Bruce |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Morrison, John Robert |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 馬儒翰 |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | translator, diplomat and missionary in China |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1814 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Macao, China |
| DATE OF DEATH | October, 1843 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Guangzhou, China |
 |
This biographical article about a person involved in the Hong Kong Government is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
| This article about a British person involved in government is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
