John Mack

John Mack (1797-1845) wax originally from Scotland. He was educated at Edinburgh University and Bristol Academy. Recruited by William Ward during Ward’s furlough in England in 1819-1820, Mack was eventually appointed as a BMS missionary in 1821. He became a professor of science at the newly founded Serampore College in November 1821, and in 1824 the Serampore Press issued his highly regarded Principles of Chemistry, the first modern science text in an Indian language.  Mack also taught Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, as well as mathematics and natural sciences. Mack and Marshman produced the periodical, The Friend of India, in 1835. He served as Principal of Serampore College from 1837 to 1845. See F. A. Cox, History of the Baptist Missionary Society, from 1792 to 1842, 2 vols. (London: T. Ward, and G. and J. Dyer, 1842), 1:355-366.