William Ellis (missionary)
William Ellis ( born August 29, 1794 in London, † June 9, 1872 in London ) was an English missionary, author and explorer.
Ellis was educated at the Seminary of the London Missionary Society in 1814 and embarked in 1816 on behalf of the Missionary Society over Sydney to Tahiti. He settled first at Eimeo, one of the Windward Islands, and traveled down from there the other islands of Polynesia. Here he was trying their best to spread Christianity and the contemporary understood " civilization". In this case, it supported the missionaries John Orsmond and John Williams and their families.
After a stay on Huahine, in which his wife became seriously ill, Ellis returned 1824 Hawaii and North America back to London and was employed by the Missionary Society as foreign secretary. He went through a number of writings known that also contain natural science and ethnographic observations. His wife died in 1835, he married two years later, a successful author, who had also worked with the London Missionary Society.
Between 1853 and 1856 Ellis made three trips to Madagascar, to the Christianization he played a major role. These trips he described in Three visits to Madagascar (London 1858). From 1862 to 1865 he held himself again to Madagascar, whose Christianisation it in The martyr church: describing a narrative of the introduction, progress and triumph of christianity in Madagascar (London, 1871). 1868 took over a Christian Queen the throne of Madagascar.
William Ellis died on 9 June 1872 in London. His second wife seven days later followed him.