James Mills Thoburn
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
best known for his missionary work
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Thoburn was born on March 7, 1836 in St. Clairsville, Ohio
St. Clairsville, Ohio
St. Clairsville is a city in Belmont County, Ohio in the United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,057 at the 2000 census. This county seat of Belmont County has been nicknamed "Paradise on the Hill." St. Clairsville was named after...
and graduated from Allegheny College
Allegheny College
Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the town of Meadville. Founded in 1815, the college has about 2,100 undergraduate students.-Early history:...
in Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania...
in 1857, beginning his Methodist preaching ministry that same year in the Pittsburgh Conference. He was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
an Elder in 1858.
He went to India as a missionary in 1859 and was stationed successively at Nynee Tal, Moradabad
Moradabad
Moradabad is a city and a municipal corporation in Moradabad district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established in 1600 by prince Murad, the son of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan; as a result the city came to be known as Moradabad. It is the administrative headquarters of...
, Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
, and Calcutta
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, where he founded Calcutta Boys' School
Calcutta Boys' School
Calcutta Boys' School was founded by the Rev. James Mills Thoburn , and was opened in 1877...
in 1877. Preaching in both the native and European languages, he built the largest church in India at that time. As presiding Elder of the Indian Conference, he preached for some time at Simla
Shimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
, the summer capital of India, and was for five years editor of the Indian Witness.
After an accident, he returned to the United States in 1886. At the 1888 Methodist Episcopal General Conference, held in New York City, he was elected missionary bishop of India and Malaysia. He published the book My Missionary Apprenticeship in 1884, a history of twenty-five years in India, and a collection entitled Missionary Sermons in 1888. Other works included The Deaconess and her Vocation (1893), Christless Nations (1894), The Church of Pentecost (1899), Life of Isabella Thoburn (1903), The Christian Conquest of India (1906), India and Southern Asia (1907), and God's Heroes Our Examples (1914).
Thoburn retired in 1908 to Meadville
Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania...
. He died on November 28, 1922, aged 86.