WENGER, John. Schwarzeneck near Bern 31.8.1811 — Calcutta 20.8.1880. Rev. Swiss Missionary in India. Son of Christian W. (d. 1816) and his wife, née Fischer. Gymnasium and studies at Bern. Adopted Baptism. In 1833-38 in Greece. From 1839 worked in Calcutta for Baptist Mission. Visited Europe 1860-62, then again in India until 1874. D.D. Married 1841 Hannah Lawson, children.
Publications: Translated parts of the Bible (both OT & NT) into Sanskrit, some (e.g. Job) directly from Hebrew into Sanskrit metre, and, with Yates, translated the whole into Bengali; also translated many hymns and tracts into Sanskrit and Bengali.
– Edited Yates’ Sanskrit Dictionary (1847) and Introduction to the Bengali Language (1850).
– Bengali Grammar. Calcutta 1874, rev. 6th ed. by G. H. Rouse. 7+194 p. Calcutta 1920.
Sources: JRAS Proc. 1881, xf.; Buckland, Dictionary; *E. B. Underhill, The Life of the Rev. John Wenger, D.D.: Missionary in India, and Translator of the Scriptures Into Bengali and Sanscrit. 279 p. Calcutta 1886, with photo; stray notes in Internet.
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