Serampore trio

British-Indian history

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July 13, 2026

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The "Serampore trio" refers to William Carey, Joshua Marshman, and William Ward, who founded a significant Baptist mission in Serampore (then Frederiksnagar), India. William Carey, often called the "father of Bengali prose," was a key figure in modern missionary work and established the English Baptist Missionary Society.1

The trio established a mission in 1800 in the Danish colony of Serampore, near Calcutta, after Carey was compelled to leave British Indian territory. They were instrumental in establishing Serampore College in 1818 and were the first in India to cast type in an Indian alphabet, issuing the earliest Bengali newspapers from Serampore in 1818. Carey translated the Bible into multiple Indian languages and dialects, and the trio also worked on grammars, dictionaries, and translations of Indian literature. Their work significantly contributed to education and social reform, including advocating for the outlawing of practices like suttee.12

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Christianity
Missions to Asia
Joshua Marshman, and William Ward—the Serampore trio—worked just north of Calcutta (now Kolkata). Their fundamental approach included translating the Scriptures, establishing a college to educate an Indian ministry, printing Christian literature, promoting social reform, and recruiting missionaries for new areas as soon as translations into that area’s language were ready.…
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Joshua Marshman, and William Ward—the Serampore trio—worked just north of Calcutta (now Kolkata). Their fundamental approach included translating the Scriptures, establishing a college to educate an Indian ministry, printing Christian literature, promoting social reform, and recruiting missionaries for new areas as soon as translations into that area’s language were ready.…
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William Carey
…collectively known as the “Serampore trio,” founded the mission described by the English philanthropist William Wilberforce as “one of the chief glories” of the British nation.
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…collectively known as the “Serampore trio,” founded the mission described by the English philanthropist William Wilberforce as “one of the chief glories” of the British nation.
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