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'''John Wilson''' [[Royal Society of London|FRS]] (11 December 1804 – 1 December 1875) was a Scottish [[Christian missionary]], orientalist and educator in the [[Bombay presidency]], [[British India]].
'''John Wilson''' [[Royal Society of London|FRS]] (11 December 1804 – 1 December 1875) was a Scottish [[Christian missionary]], [[Orientalism|orientalist]], [[Ethnography|ethnographer]], and [[Minister (Christianity)|Christian minister]]. He was the member of [[Royal Society|The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge]].


In 1828, he married [[Margaret Bayne]] and together they went as Christian missionaries of the Scottish Missionary Society to [[Bombay, India]], arriving on 13 February 1829.<ref>Wilson, John. A Memoir of Mrs. Margaret Wilson, of the Scottish Mission, Bombay: Including Extracts from Her Letters and Journals. Edinburgh: William Whyte and Co, 1844. Print. p. 156.</ref><ref>Keeping Faith with Culture: Protestant Mission Among Zoroastrians of Bombay in the Nineteenth Century. Namdaran, Farshid // International Bulletin of Missionary Research; April 2003, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p. 71.</ref> He is the founder of [[Wilson College, Mumbai]] and one of the founders of [[University of Mumbai|Bombay University]], along with the Hon. Jugonnath Sunkersett and Dr. Bhau Daji Lad. He was also the president of the [[Asiatic Society of Mumbai|Asiatic Society of Bombay]] from 1835 to 1842; and was elected Moderator of the [[Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900)|Free Church of Scotland]] in 1870.{{sfn|Wylie|1881}}
He was elected Moderator of the [[Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900)|Free Church of Scotland]] in 1870.{{sfn|Wylie|1881}}


==Early life and studies==
== Early life and influence of Christianity ==
John Wilson was born in [[Lauder]] on 11 December 1804, the eldest of four brothers and three sisters, and grew up in a farming family. His father, Andrew Wilson, who lived to the age of eighty-two, was a councillor of the burgh for over forty years and represented the parish church as an elder. John's mother, Janet Hunter, was the oldest of thirteen children; she had a strong character and also lived to the age of eighty-two.  The family grew up in Lauder on a hill farm sprawled across seventeen hundred acres.
John Wilson was born in [[Lauder]] on 11 December 1804, the eldest of four brothers and three sisters, and grew up in a farming family.


As a child Wilson revealed that he was more intelligent than his siblings, learning to walk and talk at an early age.  In school he was considered 'the priest' on the playground because was often seen preaching to his classmates.  His being advanced for his age sometimes caused him trouble, and his preaching was sometimes seen as an offence.
His father, Andrew Wilson was a councilor of the burgh for over forty years and represented the [[parish church]] as an elder.


When Wilson was four, he started at a school in Lauder, taught by a George Murray.  He was only there for a year before he was moved to a parish school to be taught by Alexander Paterson. He left school at the age of fourteen, the standard end of school in Scotland in the 19th century.  His progress was also in his spiritual life.  Mr. Paterson affected not only his students' spiritually but also the community.
The family grew up in Lauder on a hill farm sprawled across seventeen hundred acres (1700 acres).


From 1819 he attended the [[University of Edinburgh]], where he studied [[linguistics]], philosophy and theology for eight years, and also mastered the languages of [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Hebrew]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Latin]], [[Urdu]], [[Hindi]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Arabic]] and [[Avestan|Zend]]. As he continued in his studies he discovered that teaching was a calling for him, and started to study in that field. He graduated from the University in 1828.
In school he was considered 'the priest' on the playground because was often seen preaching to his classmates. His being advanced for his age sometimes caused him trouble, and his preaching was sometimes seen as an offence.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |author=Mohan D. David |title=Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=1999 |isbn=9780802846808 |editor=Gerald H. Anderson |page=742 |chapter=Wilson, John (1804-1975) and Margaret (Bayne) (1795-1835) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oQ8BFk9K0ToC&pg=PA742}}</ref><ref name=":1">Keeping Faith with Culture: Protestant Mission Among Zoroastrians of Bombay in the Nineteenth Century. Namdaran, Farshid // International Bulletin of Missionary Research; April 2003, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p. 71.</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Numark |first=Mitch |date=May 2011 |title=Translating Dharma : Scottish Missionary-Orientalists and the Politics of Religious Understanding in Nineteenth-Century Bombay |url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/journal-of-asian-studies/article/70/2/471/340307 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |language=en |volume=70 |issue=2 |pages=471–500 |doi=10.1017/S002191181100009X |issn=0021-9118|url-access=subscription }}</ref>


Wilson's first experience of teaching was as a guide and tutor to the three boys of Colonel Rose Cormack.  As he guided them through the Netherlands he tutored them.  These young men went on to be successful, one becoming Sir [[John Rose Cormack]], a physician in Paris.  After touring for four years with the Cormack boys and studying at the University of Edinburgh during the same period he decided to dedicate his life to the people of [[India]], specifically the people of [[Bombay]] in the education field.
== Education ==
As a child Wilson revealed that he was more intelligent than his siblings, learning to walk and talk at an early age.


==Educational mission==
When Wilson was four, he started at a school in Lauder, taught by a [[George Murray (British Army officer)|George Murray]]. He was only there for a year before he was moved to a [[parish school]] to be taught by [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Bishop (Catholic Church)|bishop]] [[Alexander Paterson (penologist)|Alexander Paterson]] under whom he progressed in his spiritual life. Mr. Paterson affected not only his students' spiritually but also the community.
 
He left school at the age of fourteen, the standard end of school in Scotland in the 19th century.
 
From 1819 he attended the [[University of Edinburgh]], where he studied [[linguistics]], [[philosophy]] and [[theology]] for eight years, and also mastered the languages of [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Hebrew]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Latin]], [[Urdu]], [[Hindi]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Arabic]] and [[Avestan|Zend]]. He graduated from the university in 1828.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">Wilson, John. A Memoir of Mrs. Margaret Wilson, of the Scottish Mission, Bombay: Including Extracts from Her Letters and Journals. Edinburgh: William Whyte and Co, 1844. Print. p. 156.</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |date=2011-10-24 |title=Select Shi'a '''ulama'' of colonial India |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511791505.012 |journal=Shi'a Islam in Colonial India |pages=243–250 |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511791505.012|isbn=978-1-107-00460-3 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Scott |first=J. B. |date=2015-01-12 |title=Luther in the Tropics: Karsandas Mulji and the Colonial "Reformation" of Hinduism |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfu114 |journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion |volume=83 |issue=1 |pages=181–209 |doi=10.1093/jaarel/lfu114 |issn=0002-7189|hdl=1807/95442 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite thesis |last=Scott |first=Joshua Barton |date=2009 |title=Divine Exposures: Religion and Imposture in Colonial India |hdl=10161/1639 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10161/1639 |language=en-US}}</ref>
 
==Arrival in India and Early Missionary activities==
[[File:The Wilson College, Mumbai.jpg|thumb|220px|[[Wilson College, Mumbai]], established 1832.]]
[[File:The Wilson College, Mumbai.jpg|thumb|220px|[[Wilson College, Mumbai]], established 1832.]]
[[File:Rev-dr-john-wilson-1804-1875-vice-chancellor-of-th.jpg|thumb|right|Rev. Dr John Wilson dressing for an early photograph by [[David Octavius Hill]] & [[Robert Adamson (photographer)|Robert Adamson]]]]
[[File:Rev-dr-john-wilson-1804-1875-vice-chancellor-of-th.jpg|thumb|right|Rev. Dr John Wilson dressing for an early photograph by [[David Octavius Hill]] & [[Robert Adamson (photographer)|Robert Adamson]]]]
[[File:John Wilson from George Smith's biography.png|thumb|John Wilson from George Smith's biography]]
[[File:John Wilson from George Smith's biography.png|thumb|John Wilson from George Smith's biography]]
In 1829, a year after his graduation, Wilson and his wife went to Bombay as Christian missionaries supported by the [[Church of Scotland]]. The couple first studied [[Marathi language|Marathi]] at [[Harnai, Maharashtra|Harnai]]; then in 1831 they moved back to Bombay, where John established the [[Ambroli Church]] for the people.
In 1829, a year after his graduation, Wilson and his wife went to [[Bombay]] as [[Christian mission]]aries supported by the [[Church of Scotland]].
 
The couple first studied [[Marathi language|Marathi]] at [[Harnai, Maharashtra|Harnai]]; then in 1831 they moved back to [[Mumbai|Bombay]], where Wilson established the [[Ambroli Church]] for the people.
 
During 1830-1831, Wilson engaged in [[debates]] with [[Hindu apologetics|Hindu apologists]] in Bombay.{{sfn|Young|1981|p=25}}
 
In 1830, his protege Ram Chandra, a [[Conversion to Christianity|Hindu convert to Christianity]], debated with several Hindu [[Brahmin]] apologists in public.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" />
 
In 1831, Wilson himself debated with the [[Hindus|Hindu]] [[Pandit]] [[Morobhatt Dandekar]], who summarized his arguments in a Marathi language work titled ''Shri Hindu Dharma Sthapana''.{{sfn|Young|1981|p=26}}


During 1830-1831, Wilson engaged in debates with [[Hindu apologetics|Hindu apologists]] in Bombay.{{sfn|Young|1981|p=25}} In 1830, his protege Ram Chandra, a Hindu convert to Christianity, debated with several Hindu [[Brahmin]] apologists in public. In 1831, Wilson himself debated with the Hindu [[pandit]] [[Morobhatt Dandekar]], who summarized his arguments in a Marathi-language work titled ''Shri-Hindu-dharma-sthapana''.{{sfn|Young|1981|p=26}} Wilson translated Dandekar's text into English, and responded to it in his ''An Exposure of the Hindu Religion''.{{sfn|Young|1981|p=26}} [[Svadesha-dharmabhimani|Narayan Rao]] of Satara responded to Wilson's text in a pamphlet edited by Dandekar, and Wilson repsonded to it with ''A Second Exposure of the Hindoo Religion'' (1834).{{sfn|O'Hanlon|2002|p=65}}
Wilson translated Dandekar's text into English, and responded to it in his ''An Exposure of the Hindu Religion''.{{sfn|Young|1981|p=26}} [[Svadesha-dharmabhimani|Narayan Rao]] of [[Satara (city)|Satara]] responded to Wilson's text in a pamphlet edited by Dandekar, and Wilson responded to it with ''A Second Exposure of the Hindoo Religion'' (1834).{{sfn|O'Hanlon|2002|p=65}}


Determined to set up educational institutions for the young in Bombay, John first established an English school in 1832, and added a college in 1836 – now called [[Wilson College, Mumbai]].  With this school John was able to introduce European education, [[examinations]] and [[textbooks]] to the people of the city. This would gradually change the way in which schools in Bombay orchestrated themselves. In 1857 John helped to establish the [[Bombay University]], and went on to become its Vice-Chancellor in 1869.
Wilson was among the one of Christian missionaries who participated in famous religious polemics with Vishnubuva Brahmachari - an ascetic defender of the Hindu dharma. These meetings were held at Mumbai sea shore from 15 January 1857 to 28 May 1857 on every Thursday evening. Rev. George Bowen had published a book viz. Discussions by the Sea Side giving brief report of these meetings.


Wilson's wife, [[Margaret Bayne Wilson|Margaret]], also influenced the education system in Bombay, and aided the female population by establishing schools for girls in 1829.  In 1832 she established a [[boarding school]] for females, now called St. Columba High School. This was western India's first boarding school for females.<ref>{{cite book | author=Mohan D. David | chapter=Wilson, John (1804-1975) and Margaret (Bayne) (1795-1835) | editor=Gerald H. Anderson | title=Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions | publisher= Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing | year=1999 | page=742 | isbn=9780802846808 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oQ8BFk9K0ToC&pg=PA742 }}</ref>
== European Education in Bombay ==
Determined to set up educational institutions for the young in [[Mumbai|Bombay]], Wilson first established an English school name Wilson High School at Girgaon in 1832, and added a college in 1836 - now called [[Wilson College, Mumbai]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/D%20Ward/Heritage-Sites/Heritage-21.pdf |title= John Wilson (1804-1875) |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= Mumbai Legacy Project, D Ward |publisher= |access-date= September 22, 2025 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://wilsoncollege.edu/ProspectusNew/Prospectus4__.pdf |title= Wilson College Prospectus 2025-26, page 3 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= Wilson College |publisher= |access-date= September 22, 2025 |quote=}}</ref>  With this school he was able to introduce [[Education in Europe|European education]], [[examinations]] and [[textbooks]] to the people of the city.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":5" />


The couple also opened schools in [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and [[Hebrew]] for the Native Jewish community of the [[Bene Israel]] of the Konkan region, teaching Boys as well as girls and translating the Holy Bible especially the Old Testament for their benefit.
This would gradually change the way in which schools in [[Bombay]] orchestrated themselves. In 1857 Wilson helped to establish the [[Bombay University]], and went on to become its Vice-Chancellor in 1869.


Wilson was a passionate advocate for the preservation of Indian historical monuments. He was the Honorary President of what was then the [[Asiatic Society of Bombay]]. When the Bombay Cave Temple Commission was established in 1848, he was elected the first president.  He was an important lobbyist for the establishment in 1861 of the [[Archaeological Survey of India]].<ref>Gordon, 231–234</ref>
Wilson's wife, [[Margaret Bayne Wilson|Margaret]], also influenced the education system in Bombay, and aided the female population by establishing schools for girls in 1829. In 1832 she established a [[boarding school]] for females, now called St. Columba High School. This was western India's first boarding school for females.<ref name=":0" />


==Family==
The couple also opened schools in [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and [[Hebrew]] for the Native [[Jews|Jewish community]] of the [[Bene Israel]] of the [[Konkan region]], teaching boys as well as girls and translating the [[Bible]] especially the [[Old Testament]] for their benefit.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" />


He married:
==His wives and family==
*(1)  12 August 1828, Margaret,  author of Account of the Ancient Egyptians  [in Marathi] (Bombay 1839)  (died 19th April 1835), daughter of Kenneth Bayne, minister of the Gaelic Parish, Greenock,  and had issue.{{sfn|Scott|1928}} Following Margaret's death her sisters, Anna and Hay Bayne, joined Wilson in India as housekeepers and companions.<ref>Ewing, William ''Annals of the Free Church''</ref>
 
**Andrew, Oriental traveller,  editor of the Times of India, author of The Abode of Snow  (1875)  and other works,  born 1831, died at Howton on Ullswater 9 June 1881
As per the official records, Dr Wilson married:
*(2)  September 1846, Isabella (died s.p.  September 1867),  second daughter of James Dennistoun of Dennistoun.{{sfn|Scott|1928}} She died in 1867 and he was then joined in India by her niece, Miss Taylor.<ref>Ewing, William ''Annals of the Free Church''</ref>
*In 1828, he married [[Margaret Bayne]] and together they went as [[Christian missionaries]] of the [[Church of Scotland|Scottish Missionary Society]] to [[Bombay, India]], arriving on 13 February 1829.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" /> Wilson and Margaret had a son named Andrew (born 1831). Andrew John Wilson was an [[Orientalism|Oriental traveler]], editor of the [[The Times of India|Times of India]], author of ''The Abode of Snow'' (1875) and other works - he died at [[Ullswater]], Howton on 9 June 1881. Following Margaret's death, her sisters, Anna and Hay Bayne, joined Wilson in India as housekeepers and companions.<ref name=":2">Ewing, William ''Annals of the Free Church''</ref><ref name="DWW">{{cite encyclopedia | title=Bayne, Margaret (1798–1835) | url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/bayne-margaret-1798-1835 | editor1=Anne Commire | editor1-link=Anne Commire | editor2=Deborah Klezmer | encyclopedia=[[Dictionary of Women Worldwide|Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages]] | year=2006 | access-date=1 March 2023 | via=Encyclopedia.com | archive-date=3 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303000728/https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/bayne-margaret-1798-1835 | url-status=live }}</ref>
*In September 1846, Dr Wilson married Isabella who was the second daughter of Scottish advocate [[James Dennistoun]] of [[Dennistoun]].{{sfn|Scott|1928}} She died in 1867 and he was then joined in India by her niece, Miss Taylor.<ref name=":2"/>


==Writings==
==Writings==
Wilson was the author of many books. Early in his mission he started a periodical about religion, society, culture and European thought, called ''The Oriental Christian Spectator'', which ran from 1830 to 1862. In 1838 he wrote ''A Memoir of Mrs. Margret Wilson'', and in 1850 a ''Memoir of the Cave Temples and Monasteries and Ancient Remains in Western India''.  In 1858 he wrote, ''India Three Thousand Years Ago''. As the years went on he wrote many books, including ''Parsi Religion'' (1843), ''Evangelisation of India'' (1849), ''History of the Suppression of Female Infanticide in Western India'' (1855), ''Aboriginal Tribes of The Bombay Presidency'' (1876) and ''Indian Caste'' (1877).
Wilson was the author of many books. Early in his mission he started a periodical about religion, society, culture and European thought, called ''The Oriental Christian Spectator'', which ran from 1830 to 1862.
 
In 1838 he wrote ''A Memoir of Mrs. Margret Wilson'', and in 1850 a ''Memoir of the Cave Temples and Monasteries and Ancient Remains in Western India''.


As an archaeologist, Wilson wrote the 1847 ''Lands of the Bible: Visited and Described'',{{sfn|Wilson|1847}} the 1861 ''Caves of Karla'' (on the [[Karla Caves]]), and the 1875 ''Religious Excavations of Western India: Buddhist, Brahamanical and Jaina''. He also published a small account about the origins of the [[Bene Israel]] Jewish community of the Konkan region in 1838.
In 1858 he wrote, ''India Three Thousand Years Ago''. As the years went on he wrote many books, including ''Parsi Religion'' (1843), ''Evangelisation of India'' (1849), ''History of the Suppression of Female Infanticide in Western India'' (1855), ''Aboriginal Tribes of The Bombay Presidency'' (1876) and ''Indian Caste'' (1877).


*Encouragement to Active Missionary Exertions  [anon.] (Edinburgh,  1827)
As an archaeologist, Wilson wrote the 1847 ''Lands of the Bible: Visited and Described'',{{sfn|Wilson|1847}} the 1861 ''Caves of Karla'' (on the [[Karla Caves]]), and the 1875 ''Religious Excavations of Western India: Buddhist, Brahamanical and Jaina''.
*The Life of John Eliot, Apostle of the Indians  [anon.]  (Edinburgh, 1828)
*An Exposure of the Hindu Religion (Bombay,  1832)
*A Second Exposure of the Hindu Religion  (Bombay,  1834)
*Missionary Journey in Gujrat and Cutch  (Bombay, 1838)
*Memoir of Mrs Margaret Wilson (Edinburgh,  1838,  1840,  1858,  1860)
*Idiomatical Exercises illustrative of the English and Marathi Languages  (Bombay,  1839)
*The Parsi Religion  .  .  .  unfolded,  refuted,  and contrasted with Christianity  (Bombay, 1843)
*The Doctrine of Jehovah,  addressed to the Parsis  (Bombay,  1847)
*The Lands of the Bible Visited, 2 vols.  (Edinburgh, 1847)
*The Evangelisation of India  (Edinburgh, 1849)
*"A Memoir on the Cave Temples and Monasteries,  and other Buddhist,  Brahmanical,  and Jaine Remains of Western India"  (Journ. Bombay Asiatic Soc, iii.,  reprinted in 1850)
*Darkness and Dawn in India  (Bombay,  1853)
*History of the Suppression of Infanticide in Western India (Bombay,  1855)
*Sermon at the Baptism of a  Parsi Youth  (Bombay,  1856)
*India Three Thousand Years Ago  (Bombay,  1858)
*Assembly Addresses  (Edinburgh, 1870)
*A Poetical Address to India  (Bombay, 1872)
*Indian Caste  [edited by Peter Paterson],2 vols  (Bombay, 1877,  Edinburgh, 1878)
*Hazer and Hazor in the Scriptures (n.d.).{{sfn|Scott|1928}}


**He founded the Oriental Christian Spectator, 1830. Contributed articles to the Bombay Quarterly Review, British and Foreign Evangelical Review, and North British Review.{{sfn|Scott|1928}}
* He also published a small account about the origins of the [[Bene Israel]] Jewish community of the Konkan region in 1838.
* Encouragement to Active Missionary Exertions [anon.] (Edinburgh, 1827)
* The Life of John Eliot, Apostle of the Indians [anon.] (Edinburgh, 1828)
* An Exposure of the Hindu Religion (Bombay, 1832)
* A Second Exposure of the Hindu Religion (Bombay, 1834)
* Missionary Journey in Gujrat and Cutch (Bombay, 1838)
* Memoir of Mrs Margaret Wilson (Edinburgh, 1838, 1840, 1858, 1860)
* Idiomatical Exercises illustrative of the English and Marathi Languages (Bombay, 1839)
* The Parsi Religion . . . unfolded, refuted, and contrasted with Christianity (Bombay, 1843)
* The Doctrine of Jehovah, addressed to the Parsis (Bombay, 1847)
* The Lands of the Bible Visited, 2 vols. (Edinburgh, 1847)
* The Evangelisation of India (Edinburgh, 1849)
* "A Memoir on the Cave Temples and Monasteries, and other Buddhist, Brahmanical, and Jaine Remains of Western India" (Journ. Bombay Asiatic Soc, iii., reprinted in 1850)
* Darkness and Dawn in India (Bombay, 1853)
* History of the Suppression of Infanticide in Western India (Bombay, 1855)
* Sermon at the Baptism of a Parsi Youth (Bombay, 1856)
* India Three Thousand Years Ago (Bombay, 1858)
* Assembly Addresses (Edinburgh, 1870)
* A Poetical Address to India (Bombay, 1872)
* Indian Caste [edited by Peter Paterson],2 vols (Bombay, 1877, Edinburgh, 1878)
* Hazer and Hazor in the Scriptures (n.d.).{{sfn|Scott|1928}}
* He founded the Oriental Christian Spectator, 1830. Contributed articles to the Bombay Quarterly Review, British and Foreign Evangelical Review, and North British Review.{{sfn|Scott|1928}}


== References ==
== References ==
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{{Reflist}}
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===Sources===
===Sources===


*{{cite DNB|last=Carlyle |first=Edward Irving |author-link=Edward Irving Carlyle |wstitle=Wilson, John (1804-1875) |volume=62 |page=113–115|noicon=2}}{{PD-notice}}
*{{cite DNB|last=Carlyle |first=Edward Irving |author-link=Edward Irving Carlyle |wstitle=Wilson, John (1804-1875) |volume=62 |page=113–115|noicon=2}}{{PD-notice}}
*{{Cite ODNB|last=Carlyle |first=Edward Irving |author-link=Edward Irving Carlyle|title=Wilson, John (1804-1875) |last2=Savage|first2=David W. |date=2004|id=29671}}
*{{Cite ODNB|last=Carlyle |first=Edward Irving |author-link=Edward Irving Carlyle|title=Wilson, John (1804-1875) |last2=Savage|first2=David W. |date=2004|id=29671}}
*{{cite SBDEL |wstitle=Wilson, John (orientalist) |page=410–411|noicon=2}}{{PD-notice}}
*{{cite SBDEL |wstitle=Wilson, John (orientalist) |page=410–411|noicon=2}}{{PD-notice}}
*David, M. D. ''John Wilson and his Institution''. Wilson College, Bombay: John Wilson Education Society, 1975.
*David, M. D. ''John Wilson and his Institution''. Wilson College, Bombay: John Wilson Education Society, 1975.
*{{cite book |last1=Holcomb |first1=Helen H. |title=Men of might in India missions; the leaders and their epochs, 1706-1899 |date=1901 |publisher=Fleming H. Revell company |location=New York, Chicago [etc.] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/menofmightinindi00holc/page/190/mode/2up 190]-212 |url=https://archive.org/details/menofmightinindi00holc}}
*{{cite book |last1=Holcomb |first1=Helen H. |title=Men of might in India missions; the leaders and their epochs, 1706-1899 |date=1901 |publisher=Fleming H. Revell company |location=New York, Chicago [etc.] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/menofmightinindi00holc/page/190/mode/2up 190]-212 |url=https://archive.org/details/menofmightinindi00holc}}
 
*{{cite book |last1=Hunter |first1=Robert |title=History of the missions of the Free church of Scotland in India and Africa |date=1873 |publisher=T. Nelson |location=London; New York |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmission00hunt|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmission00hunt/page/208/mode/2up 208] et passim}}
*{{cite book |last1=Hunter |first1=Robert |title=History of the missions of the Free church of Scotland in India and Africa |date=1873 |publisher=T. Nelson |location=London ; New York |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmission00hunt|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmission00hunt/page/208/mode/2up 208] et passim}}
 
*{{cite book |last1=Marrat |first1=Jabez |title=Two standard bearers in the East: sketches of Dr. Duff and Dr. Wilson |date=1882 |publisher=T. Woolmer |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/twostandardbear00marrgoog/page/n6/mode/2up}}
*{{cite book |last1=Marrat |first1=Jabez |title=Two standard bearers in the East: sketches of Dr. Duff and Dr. Wilson |date=1882 |publisher=T. Woolmer |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/twostandardbear00marrgoog/page/n6/mode/2up}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Namdaran |first1=Farshid |title=Keeping Faith with Culture: Protestant Mission Among Zoroastrians of Bombay in the Nineteenth Century |journal=Protestant Mission in Bombay |date=2018 |url=https://archive.org/details/ProtestantMissinInBombay/mode/2up}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Namdaran |first1=Farshid |title=Keeping Faith with Culture: Protestant Mission Among Zoroastrians of Bombay in the Nineteenth Century |journal=Protestant Mission in Bombay |date=2018 |url=https://archive.org/details/ProtestantMissinInBombay/mode/2up}}
*{{cite book |last=Scott |first=Hew |title=Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation |volume=7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fastiecclesiaesc07scot/page/710/mode/2up 711]-712|date=1928 |publisher=Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd |url=https://archive.org/details/fastiecclesiaesc07scot |author-link=Hew Scott}}{{PD-notice}}
*{{cite book |last=Scott |first=Hew |title=Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation |volume=7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fastiecclesiaesc07scot/page/710/mode/2up 711]-712|date=1928 |publisher=Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd |url=https://archive.org/details/fastiecclesiaesc07scot |author-link=Hew Scott}}{{PD-notice}}
*{{cite book|last=Smith|first=George|title=The Life of John Wilson, D.D., F.R.S. : for fifty years philanthropist and scholar in the East|location= London, Albemarle Street|publisher=John Murray|date=1878|url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofjohnwils00smit/page/n9/mode/2up}}
*{{cite book|last=Smith|first=George|title=The Life of John Wilson, D.D., F.R.S. : for fifty years philanthropist and scholar in the East|location= London, Albemarle Street|publisher=John Murray|date=1878|url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofjohnwils00smit/page/n9/mode/2up}}
*{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=George |title=The life of Alexander Duff |date=1879 |publisher=A.C. Armstrong |location=New York |volume=1 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofalexander01smituoft/page/n7/mode/2up}}
*{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=George |title=The life of Alexander Duff |date=1879 |publisher=A.C. Armstrong |location=New York |volume=1 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofalexander01smituoft/page/n7/mode/2up}}
*{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=George |title=The life of Alexander Duff |date=1882 |publisher=A.C. Armstrong |location=New York |volume=2 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofalexanderd02smituoft}}
*{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=George |title=The life of Alexander Duff |date=1882 |publisher=A.C. Armstrong |location=New York |volume=2 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofalexanderd02smituoft}}
*{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=George |title=The life of Alexander Duff |date=1879 |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofalexanderdlhs00smit|edition=Third English edition revised and abridged}}
*{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=George |title=The life of Alexander Duff |date=1879 |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofalexanderdlhs00smit|edition=Third English edition revised and abridged}}
*{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Thomas |author1-link=Thomas Smith (missionary) |title=Alexander Duff |date=1883 |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/alexanderduff00smitgoog/page/n8/mode/2up}}
*{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Thomas |author1-link=Thomas Smith (missionary) |title=Alexander Duff |date=1883 |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/alexanderduff00smitgoog/page/n8/mode/2up}}
*[https://openlibrary.org/works/OL13089770W/History_of_the_Suppression_of_Infanticide_in_Western_India_Under_the_.. Wilson, John. ''History of the Suppression Of Infanticide in Western India Under the Government of Bombay''. Bombay: American Mission Press, 1855.]
*[[openlibrary:works/OL13089770W/History_of_the_Suppression_of_Infanticide_in_Western_India_Under_the_..|Wilson, John. ''History of the Suppression Of Infanticide in Western India Under the Government of Bombay''. Bombay: American Mission Press, 1855.]]
*[https://openlibrary.org/works/OL13089772W/Indian_Caste Wilson, John. ''Indian Caste''. Bombay: Times of India Office, William Blackwood & Sons, 1877.]
*[[openlibrary:works/OL13089772W/Indian_Caste|Wilson, John. ''Indian Caste''. Bombay: Times of India Office, William Blackwood & Sons, 1877.]]
*[https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1625083W/A_memoir_of_Mrs._Margaret_Wilson_of_the_Scottish_mission_Bombay Wilson, John. ''A Memoir of Mrs. Margaret Wilson''. Bombay: William Whyte & Co, 1838.]
*[https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1625083W/A_memoir_of_Mrs._Margaret_Wilson_of_the_Scottish_mission_Bombay Wilson, John. ''A Memoir of Mrs. Margaret Wilson''. Bombay: William Whyte & Co, 1838.]
*Wilson, John. ''Parsi Religion''. Bombay: American Mission Press, 1843.
*Wilson, John. ''Parsi Religion''. Bombay: American Mission Press, 1843.
*{{citation |last=Wilson |first=John |title=The Lands of the Bible Visited and Described in an Extensive Journey Undertaken with Special Reference to the Promotion of Biblical Research and the Advancement of the Cause of Philanthropy, ''Vol.&nbsp;II'' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=id07AAAAcAAJ&pg=PP11 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=William Whyte & Co. |date=1847 }}
*{{citation |last=Wilson |first=John |title=The Lands of the Bible Visited and Described in an Extensive Journey Undertaken with Special Reference to the Promotion of Biblical Research and the Advancement of the Cause of Philanthropy, ''Vol.&nbsp;II'' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=id07AAAAcAAJ&pg=PP11 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=William Whyte & Co. |date=1847 }}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Wylie |editor-first=James Aitken |editor-link=James Aitken Wylie |title=Disruption worthies : a memorial of 1843, with an historical sketch of the free church of Scotland from 1843 down to the present time |date=1881 |publisher=T. C. Jack |location=Edinburgh |pages=[https://archive.org/details/disruptionworthi00wyli/page/497/mode/2up 497]–504 |url=https://archive.org/stream/disruptionworthi00wyli}}{{PD-notice}}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Wylie |editor-first=James Aitken |editor-link=James Aitken Wylie |title=Disruption worthies : a memorial of 1843, with an historical sketch of the free church of Scotland from 1843 down to the present time |date=1881 |publisher=T. C. Jack |location=Edinburgh |pages=[https://archive.org/details/disruptionworthi00wyli/page/497/mode/2up 497]–504 |url=https://archive.org/stream/disruptionworthi00wyli}}{{PD-notice}}
* {{cite book |last=Young |first=Richard Fox |title=Resistant Hinduism: Sanskrit Sources on Anti-Christian Apologetics in Early Nineteenth-century India |year=1981 |publisher=De Nobili Research Library |isbn=9783900271091 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O4gcAAAAMAAJ }}
* {{cite book |last=Young |first=Richard Fox |title=Resistant Hinduism: Sanskrit Sources on Anti-Christian Apologetics in Early Nineteenth-century India |year=1981 |publisher=De Nobili Research Library |isbn=9783900271091 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O4gcAAAAMAAJ }}
* {{cite book |last=O'Hanlon |first=Rosalind |title=Caste, Conflict and Ideology |year=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521523080 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kMrsTj1NeYC&pg=PA65 }}
* {{cite book |last=O'Hanlon |first=Rosalind |title=Caste, Conflict and Ideology |year=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521523080 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kMrsTj1NeYC&pg=PA65 }}


==External Works==
==External works==


{{Internet Archive author |sname=John Wilson}}
{{Internet Archive author |sname=John Wilson}}
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Latest revision as of 23:00, 28 March 2026


The Very Reverend

John Wilson

DD, FRS
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John Wilson, Missionary and Orientalist
ChurchProtestant (Church of Scotland; Free Church of Scotland)
Personal details
Born(1804-12-11)11 December 1804
Lauder, Berwickshire, Scotland
Died1 December 1875(1875-12-01) (aged 70)
Bombay, Bombay Presidency
NationalityScottish
DenominationChristian
ParentsAndrew Wilson, Janet Hunter
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh

John Wilson FRS (11 December 1804 – 1 December 1875) was a Scottish Christian missionary, orientalist, ethnographer, and Christian minister. He was the member of The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge.

He was elected Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland in 1870.[1]

Early life and influence of Christianity[edit | edit source]

John Wilson was born in Lauder on 11 December 1804, the eldest of four brothers and three sisters, and grew up in a farming family.

His father, Andrew Wilson was a councilor of the burgh for over forty years and represented the parish church as an elder.

The family grew up in Lauder on a hill farm sprawled across seventeen hundred acres (1700 acres).

In school he was considered 'the priest' on the playground because was often seen preaching to his classmates. His being advanced for his age sometimes caused him trouble, and his preaching was sometimes seen as an offence.[2][3][4][5]

Education[edit | edit source]

As a child Wilson revealed that he was more intelligent than his siblings, learning to walk and talk at an early age.

When Wilson was four, he started at a school in Lauder, taught by a George Murray. He was only there for a year before he was moved to a parish school to be taught by Roman Catholic bishop Alexander Paterson under whom he progressed in his spiritual life. Mr. Paterson affected not only his students' spiritually but also the community.

He left school at the age of fourteen, the standard end of school in Scotland in the 19th century.

From 1819 he attended the University of Edinburgh, where he studied linguistics, philosophy and theology for eight years, and also mastered the languages of Gujarati, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Urdu, Hindi, Persian, Arabic and Zend. He graduated from the university in 1828.[5][6][7][8][9]

Arrival in India and Early Missionary activities[edit | edit source]

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Wilson College, Mumbai, established 1832.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing
Rev. Dr John Wilson dressing for an early photograph by David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
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John Wilson from George Smith's biography

In 1829, a year after his graduation, Wilson and his wife went to Bombay as Christian missionaries supported by the Church of Scotland.

The couple first studied Marathi at Harnai; then in 1831 they moved back to Bombay, where Wilson established the Ambroli Church for the people.

During 1830-1831, Wilson engaged in debates with Hindu apologists in Bombay.[10]

In 1830, his protege Ram Chandra, a Hindu convert to Christianity, debated with several Hindu Brahmin apologists in public.[8][9]

In 1831, Wilson himself debated with the Hindu Pandit Morobhatt Dandekar, who summarized his arguments in a Marathi language work titled Shri Hindu Dharma Sthapana.[11]

Wilson translated Dandekar's text into English, and responded to it in his An Exposure of the Hindu Religion.[11] Narayan Rao of Satara responded to Wilson's text in a pamphlet edited by Dandekar, and Wilson responded to it with A Second Exposure of the Hindoo Religion (1834).[12]

Wilson was among the one of Christian missionaries who participated in famous religious polemics with Vishnubuva Brahmachari - an ascetic defender of the Hindu dharma. These meetings were held at Mumbai sea shore from 15 January 1857 to 28 May 1857 on every Thursday evening. Rev. George Bowen had published a book viz. Discussions by the Sea Side giving brief report of these meetings.

European Education in Bombay[edit | edit source]

Determined to set up educational institutions for the young in Bombay, Wilson first established an English school name Wilson High School at Girgaon in 1832, and added a college in 1836 - now called Wilson College, Mumbai.[13][14] With this school he was able to introduce European education, examinations and textbooks to the people of the city.[8][9][7]

This would gradually change the way in which schools in Bombay orchestrated themselves. In 1857 Wilson helped to establish the Bombay University, and went on to become its Vice-Chancellor in 1869.

Wilson's wife, Margaret, also influenced the education system in Bombay, and aided the female population by establishing schools for girls in 1829. In 1832 she established a boarding school for females, now called St. Columba High School. This was western India's first boarding school for females.[2]

The couple also opened schools in Marathi and Hebrew for the Native Jewish community of the Bene Israel of the Konkan region, teaching boys as well as girls and translating the Bible especially the Old Testament for their benefit.[8][9]

His wives and family[edit | edit source]

As per the official records, Dr Wilson married:

Writings[edit | edit source]

Wilson was the author of many books. Early in his mission he started a periodical about religion, society, culture and European thought, called The Oriental Christian Spectator, which ran from 1830 to 1862.

In 1838 he wrote A Memoir of Mrs. Margret Wilson, and in 1850 a Memoir of the Cave Temples and Monasteries and Ancient Remains in Western India.

In 1858 he wrote, India Three Thousand Years Ago. As the years went on he wrote many books, including Parsi Religion (1843), Evangelisation of India (1849), History of the Suppression of Female Infanticide in Western India (1855), Aboriginal Tribes of The Bombay Presidency (1876) and Indian Caste (1877).

As an archaeologist, Wilson wrote the 1847 Lands of the Bible: Visited and Described,[17] the 1861 Caves of Karla (on the Karla Caves), and the 1875 Religious Excavations of Western India: Buddhist, Brahamanical and Jaina.

  • He also published a small account about the origins of the Bene Israel Jewish community of the Konkan region in 1838.
  • Encouragement to Active Missionary Exertions [anon.] (Edinburgh, 1827)
  • The Life of John Eliot, Apostle of the Indians [anon.] (Edinburgh, 1828)
  • An Exposure of the Hindu Religion (Bombay, 1832)
  • A Second Exposure of the Hindu Religion (Bombay, 1834)
  • Missionary Journey in Gujrat and Cutch (Bombay, 1838)
  • Memoir of Mrs Margaret Wilson (Edinburgh, 1838, 1840, 1858, 1860)
  • Idiomatical Exercises illustrative of the English and Marathi Languages (Bombay, 1839)
  • The Parsi Religion . . . unfolded, refuted, and contrasted with Christianity (Bombay, 1843)
  • The Doctrine of Jehovah, addressed to the Parsis (Bombay, 1847)
  • The Lands of the Bible Visited, 2 vols. (Edinburgh, 1847)
  • The Evangelisation of India (Edinburgh, 1849)
  • "A Memoir on the Cave Temples and Monasteries, and other Buddhist, Brahmanical, and Jaine Remains of Western India" (Journ. Bombay Asiatic Soc, iii., reprinted in 1850)
  • Darkness and Dawn in India (Bombay, 1853)
  • History of the Suppression of Infanticide in Western India (Bombay, 1855)
  • Sermon at the Baptism of a Parsi Youth (Bombay, 1856)
  • India Three Thousand Years Ago (Bombay, 1858)
  • Assembly Addresses (Edinburgh, 1870)
  • A Poetical Address to India (Bombay, 1872)
  • Indian Caste [edited by Peter Paterson],2 vols (Bombay, 1877, Edinburgh, 1878)
  • Hazer and Hazor in the Scriptures (n.d.).[16]
  • He founded the Oriental Christian Spectator, 1830. Contributed articles to the Bombay Quarterly Review, British and Foreign Evangelical Review, and North British Review.[16]

References[edit | edit source]

Citations[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Wylie 1881.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mohan D. David (1999). "Wilson, John (1804-1975) and Margaret (Bayne) (1795-1835)". In Gerald H. Anderson (ed.). Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 742. ISBN 9780802846808.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Keeping Faith with Culture: Protestant Mission Among Zoroastrians of Bombay in the Nineteenth Century. Namdaran, Farshid // International Bulletin of Missionary Research; April 2003, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p. 71.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ewing, William Annals of the Free Church
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Numark, Mitch (May 2011). "Translating Dharma : Scottish Missionary-Orientalists and the Politics of Religious Understanding in Nineteenth-Century Bombay". The Journal of Asian Studies. 70 (2): 471–500. doi:10.1017/S002191181100009X. ISSN 0021-9118.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wilson, John. A Memoir of Mrs. Margaret Wilson, of the Scottish Mission, Bombay: Including Extracts from Her Letters and Journals. Edinburgh: William Whyte and Co, 1844. Print. p. 156.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Select Shi'a 'ulama of colonial India". Shi'a Islam in Colonial India: 243–250. 24 October 2011. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511791505.012. ISBN 978-1-107-00460-3.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Scott, J. B. (12 January 2015). "Luther in the Tropics: Karsandas Mulji and the Colonial "Reformation" of Hinduism". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 83 (1): 181–209. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfu114. hdl:1807/95442. ISSN 0002-7189.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Scott, Joshua Barton (2009). Divine Exposures: Religion and Imposture in Colonial India (Thesis). hdl:10161/1639.
  10. ↑ Young 1981, p. 25.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Young 1981, p. 26.
  12. ↑ O'Hanlon 2002, p. 65.
  13. ↑ "John Wilson (1804-1875)" (PDF). Mumbai Legacy Project, D Ward. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  14. ↑ "Wilson College Prospectus 2025-26, page 3" (PDF). Wilson College. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  15. ↑ Anne Commire; Deborah Klezmer, eds. (2006). "Bayne, Margaret (1798–1835)". Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023 – via Encyclopedia.com.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Scott 1928.
  17. ↑ Wilson 1847.

Sources[edit | edit source]

External works[edit | edit source]

Works by or about John Wilson at Internet Archive

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