Yesterdate: This day from Kolkata’s past, November 1, 1796
Telegraph | 1 November 2024
Scottish clergyman and abolitionist William Adam was born on this day. He arrived in Calcutta in 1818, he was in Serampore as a Baptist missionary. He learnt Sanskrit and Bengali and worked on a translation of the New Testament.
Meeting reformer Raja Rammohun Roy was a turning point for Adam. After Adam converted to Unitarianism, Roy, with a few Indians and Europeans, established the Calcutta Unitarian Committee (1821-1828), which paved the way for Brahmo Samaj. Commissioned by the colonial government, Adam prepared three detailed reports between 1835 and 1838 on the state of education in Bengal.
He left for the US, where he would be appointed teacher of Oriental linguistics and work as an abolitionist. His contribution to the anti-slavery movement is well-remembered. He said the British abolition of slavery was incomplete till India was free. He was appointed Unitarian minister in Toronto and Chicago. He died in England.
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