"Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.

"
William Carey's motto on a hanging in St. James Church, Paulerspury.

William Carey (17 August 1761 – 9 June 1834) was an English Baptist
missionary, known as the "father of modern missions." Carey was one of the
founders of the Baptist Missionary Society. He was born in the village of
Paulerspury in Northamptonshire. As a child he was naturally inquisitive and
keenly interested in botany.
Carey along with his wife and kids came to Calcutta in November’1793. During the first
year in Calcutta, the missionaries sought means to support themselves and a place to
establish their mission. They also began to learn the Bengali language to communicate
with others.

One of his first contributions was to start schools for impoverished children where they
were taught reading, writing, accounting and Christianity.[3] He opened the first
theological university in Serampore (India) offering divinity degrees,[4][5] and campaigned
to end the practice of Sati.
[2]
In 1820 Carey founded the Agri Horticultural Society of India at Alipore, Kolkata,
supporting his enthusiasm for botany. When William Roxburgh went on leave, Carey
was entrusted to maintain the Botanical Garden at Calcutta. The genus Careya was
named after him.

Internal dissent and resentment was growing within the Missionary Society as its
numbers grew. Unused to the rigorous work ethic of Carey, Ward, and Marshman, the
new missionaries thought their seniors – to be somewhat dictatorial.
In 1815 John Dyer,the new secretary of society in England attempted to reorganise the
Society along business lines and manage every detail of the Serampore mission from
England. Their differences proved to be irreconcilable, and Carey left the mission
property. He lived a quiet life until his death in 1834, revising his Bengali Bible,
preaching, and teaching students. The couch on which he died, on 9 June 1834, is now
housed at Regent's Park College, the Baptist hall of the University of Oxford.

Joshua Marshman was born in 1768 in Britain at Westbury Leigh, Great Britain. He
studied at the Broadmead Baptist Church, and taught in a local charity school. In1799,
Joshua, Hannah, and their two children set out from Portsmouth for India. Although
there was a threat of a French naval attack the family landed safely at the Danish
settlement of Serampore. Marshman was a talented and gifted scholar. Marshman and
Carey together translated the Bible into many Indian Languages as well as translating
the Hindu classic the Ramayana into English.
Marshman had an important role in the development of Indian newspapers. He was a
keen proponent of the new developments in educational practice. On 5 July 1818,
William Carey, Joshua Marshman and William Ward issued a prospectus (written by
Marshman) for a proposed new "College for the instruction of Asiatic, Christian, and
other youth in Eastern literature and European science". Thus was born Serampore
College - which still continues to this day.

There are very few cities in the whole world where a college is considered to be
one of the main attractions of that city. Well Serampore college falls on that list of
the very few. The college is believed to be the single most place of interest where
the modern 19th century renaissance in Bengal originated. Serampore College was
established in 1818 by Dr. William Carey and his associates, Joshua Marshman
and William Ward, under the Royal Danish Charter, which empowered the
College to confer degrees in Theology.
Serampore College was and, perhaps, still today is the only college which imparts
religious and secular education under one management. It is clearly laid down in
its constitution that “no caste, colour or country shall bar any man from
admission to the College.” It was both Oriental and Occidental in character, trying
to maintain the regional language as the medium of instruction.
St. Olav’s Church is located on Dr. Bishwanath Jot Sarani at Tin Bazar in the City of
Serampore in the Indian state of West Bengal. The conservation project was rewarded by the
2016 UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards