Today’s Leader of Faith
WILLIAM WARD
Home Call : 07 March 1823
India’s Missionary Printer, William Carey’s right hand, Co-Founder of Serampore Mission, Evangelist, Expert in printing.
William Ward (1769–1823) was an English Baptist missionary and a key member of the Serampore Trio, alongside William Carey and Joshua Marshman. His expertise as a printer and publisher helped spread the gospel by making Bibles, tracts, and educational materials available in multiple Indian languages. He played a crucial role in printing and publishing Christian literature in India, particularly at the Serampore Mission in Bengal, where he managed the Serampore printing press, the first major Protestant printing house in India. Beyond printing, he actively engaged in preaching, teaching, and spreading Christianity. His deep study of Hindu customs and traditions enabled him to communicate Christian teachings more effectively to the Indian people. He co-founded Serampore College with Carey and Marshman to educate natives in European literature and science, supporting its establishment to provide higher education to both Indians and missionaries.
Ward was born in Derby on 20 October 1769. After his father’s early death, he was raised by his mother and educated under schoolmasters Congreve and Breary. He apprenticed with Derby printer and bookseller Drewry, later working as an editor for the Derby Mercury and then the Staffordshire Advertiser. Around 1794–1795, he moved to Hull, where he worked as a printer and edited the Hull Advertiser. He became a Baptist early in life and was baptized on 28 August 1796. Known for his preaching, he received support to study theology at John Fawcett’s academy at Ewood Hall, Yorkshire, where he studied for a year and a half. In the autumn of 1798, the Baptist mission committee visited Ewood, and Ward volunteered as a missionary. His decision was likely influenced by a remark made to him in 1793 by William Carey about the need for a printer in the Indian mission field.
Ward sailed for India in May 1799 with Hannah and Joshua Marshman but was initially barred from joining William Carey in Calcutta by the British government. Instead, he settled in the Danish colony of Serampore, where Carey later joined him. In India, he managed the Serampore printing press, producing translated scriptures in Bengali, Mahratta, Tamil, and 23 other languages, along with various philological works. He also preached and kept a detailed diary. He married the widow of missionary John Fountain on 10 May 1803, with whom he had two daughters. Until 1806, Ward frequently toured villages, but growing responsibilities at the press and mission work in Serampore and Calcutta kept him stationed there. In 1812, a fire destroyed the printing office, causing a loss of £10,000, but support from Britain helped restore operations. On 23 May 1818, the Serampore press printed “Samachar Darpan”, the first newspaper in an oriental language. In 1818, due to poor health, Ward returned to England to raise funds for Serampore College. He traveled across England, Scotland, Holland, and Germany before visiting the U.S. in 1820. Returning to England in April 1821, he sailed back to India on 28 May, bringing funds for the college, solidifying the legacy of the “Serampore Trio.
Ward passed away at the age of 53, in Serampore, India due to cholera. He had dedicated over two decades to missionary work, printing, and Bible translation efforts in India. His death was a significant loss to the Serampore Mission, but his contributions in printing and publishing Christian literature laid a strong foundation for future missionary efforts in India.