![]() He was consecrated on 30 November and immediately sailed to take up his duties in Natal. In 1853 Colenso was offered the bishopric of Natal in South Africa, a position which fitted perfectly with his missionary interests. The Bunyon family secured the living of Forncett St Mary in Norfolk for Colenso and he carried out his duties earnestly, having time to continue to use his mathematical talents with private tutoring. On 8 January 1846 Colenso married Frances Bunyon and, as a consequence, had to resign his Cambridge fellowship. Another important connection came through the fact that Frances was friendly with the wife of the eminent geologist Sir Charles Lyell. ![]() His views, and those of Frances Bunyon and her family, greatly influenced Colenso's thinking. Maurice believed in a united Christian Church that transcended the differences between individuals and races as he had put forward in The Kingdom of Christ (1838). Frances, part of a circle of free thinking Broad Church people, had first got to know Maurice when she wrote to him thanking him for defending the religious views of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge whom she admired. She had an immediate profound affect on Colenso's life for she introduced him to the eminent theologian Frederick Denison Maurice. Although Colenso felt that his books were not particularly good, they proved very popular and Colenso's Arithmetic, in particular, sold widely and brought in a considerable income for its author.Ĭolenso had met Frances Bunyon, daughter of the head of the London office of the Norwich Union insurance company, while at St John's College. During his four years back at St John's he published a number of mathematics books including one on Euclid, one on algebra and one on arithmetic. He stood no chance of paying off his debt as a mathematics tutor at Harrow so he decided to return to St John's College, Cambridge, and try to make some money through his mathematical talents. However, another tragedy struck when the boarding house was destroyed by fire and, having no insurance, he found himself deeply in debt. In order to supplement his income he followed a typical route followed by many schoolmasters at the time of running a boarding house for boys who were studying at the school. At this time the school was not in a good financial state and Colenso's salary was low. He achieved his second ambition when he was ordained in the following year. In 1838 Colenso was appointed as a mathematics tutor at Harrow school. In the following year he was elected to a fellowship at St John's College. He graduated as Second Wrangler in the Mathematical Tripos of 1836 and, in the same year, was Smith's prizeman. Academically he was very successful at Cambridge, although hard studies and working to make money left him with no time for a social life. His talent for mathematics helped too, for he won prizes and scholarships to help with his finances. Of course he did not have the financial support to see him through his university studies, so he supported himself as a private tutor of mathematics. His efforts to achieve these aims led him to hard study and, on, he matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge. He had a passion for mathematics, and in addition wished to become a priest. The fifteen year old Colenso had two burning ambitions, and he had the necessary determination to achieve them despite the problems. Because of their financial position, he could not continue his education and took a job as an usher at a Dartmouth school. This was the first of several tragedies to impact on his life, and the death of his mother at around the same time meant that his family were suddenly in severe difficulties. John attended the mathematical and classical school in St Austell for four years until 1829 when a tin mine that his father had an interest in flooded. However, the parents and children all joined the Church of England when John was an adolescent. John was one of four children in the family who were brought up as Nonconformists, that is Protestants outside the Church of England. Biography John Colenso's father, also named John William Colenso, was a mineral agent associated with tin mining in Cornwall.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |