CYSK 14 Adoniram Judson

Adoniram Judson, Jr. (1788–1850) was an American Baptist (formerly Congregationalist) missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Judson became the first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma. His mission and work with Luther Rice led to the formation of the first Baptist association in America to support missionaries. At times mistakenly referred to as the first missionary to Burma, he was in fact preceded by James Chater and Richard Mardon (both arrived in 1807) as well as by Felix Carey. However, since none of them remained long, and Judson also translated the Bible into Burmese, as well as establishing a number of Baptist churches in Burma, Judson is remembered as the first significant missionary in Burma, as well as one of the very first missionaries from America to travel overseas. When he died, he left the Bible (his translation remains popular), 100 churches, and over 8,000 believers. In large part due to his influence, Myanmar has the third largest number of Baptists worldwide (behind the USA and India). The majority of adherents are Karen and Kachin. Each July, Baptist churches in Myanmar celebrate "Judson Day". Judson compiled the first ever Burmese-English dictionary. The English-Burmese half was interrupted by his death and completed by missionary E A Steven. Every dictionary and grammar written in Burma in the last two centuries has been based on ones originally created by Judson.