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eventREF E-0010879Revised

Event record

Kuruman missionary Robert Moffat is born

Kuruman missionary Robert Moffat is born

Date
21 Dec 1795
Updated
30 Sep 2019
Kuruman missionary Robert Moffat is born

Robert Moffat, missionary of the London Missionary Society at Kuruman and father-in-law of Dr David Livingstone, was born in Ormiston, Scotland, to a working class family. He was trained as a gardener and worked at High Leah, near Liverpool. At the age of 21, he came to South Africa and started his ministry in Namaqualand. In May 1821 he and his wife Mary, an indispensible helpmate, carried on their mission work in the neighbourhood of Kuruman. The Moffats returned to Britain in 1870. The main achievement of Moffat was translating the Bible into Setswana, the first bible in an indigenous southern African language. Click here to read more about missionary work in southern Africa.

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How we know this

  1. 01Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau;
  2. 02Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds) (1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 7, p. 484.
  3. 03Ross, S., (1976), Robert Moffat: Missionary, from Wholesome Words, [online], Available at www.wholesomewords.org [Accessed: 25 November 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Kuruman missionary Robert Moffat is born. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010879

South African History Online (2011) 'Kuruman missionary Robert Moffat is born', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010879 (Accessed: 31 July 2026).

South African History Online, Kuruman missionary Robert Moffat is born [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010879, (accessed 31 July 2026).

"Kuruman missionary Robert Moffat is born." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010879. Accessed 31 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Kuruman missionary Robert Moffat is born." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010879.

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