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Myers Literary Guide:
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The North-East
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ROBERT MORRISON (1782 - 1834) Morrison was born at Buller’s Green, Morpeth, though the family moved to Newcastle when he was three. Between 1785-1803 the family lived in Morrison’s Court, which stood on the site of the Old Town Hall in Newcastle. A plaque was erected there by the Newcastle Bible Society. Originally apprenticed to his father’s trade of last-maker, in 1798 Morrison joined the Presbyterian church and attended the High Bridge meeting-house. He eventually became the first Protestant missionary to China. Morrison was appointed translator to the East India Company on 20 February 1809. In 1815, the directors learned that he had published the New Testament in Chinese and, like all other authorities in history faced with the prospect of a vernacular Bible, were much alarmed. They felt it might turn the Chinese against the company, and considered dismissing Morrison. He retained his position however, and remained active in the missionary field. Morrison was a voluminous writer in both English and Chinese, his great works in the latter tongue being his translation of the Bible (1814-19) and his Dictionary of the Chinese Language (1815-23), published in 21 volumes.
Morrison returned to England only once in 27 years and preached to a
packed congregation in the Presbyterian chapel in High Bridge. He died in
Canton.
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