William Johns, a Man Who Started as a Chemist and Druggist in London, Became a Baptist Missionary in India and Ended as a Medical Doctor in Manchester

Abstract

William Johns (1787–1870) became a Baptist missionary in India in 1812 and eight months later was sent back to England on the order of the East India Company. His subsequent life involved working as a doctor for a short time in Birmingham, before returning to Calcutta under his own initiative for three years and then returning to England, this time to Manchester. His publications included comments on the early days of the Baptist Missionary Society in Serampore and the difficulties between the home committee and the missionaries, the first English publication on widow burning and publications relating to dissenting issues, botany and the health problems of the Manchester citizens.