Christian Friedrich Schwarz

Christian Frederick Schwarz (with spellings including Friedrich and Schwartz or Swartz) (8 October 1726 – 13 February 1798) was a German Lutheran missionary to India.

He was known for his linguistic skills, with knowledge of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Tamil, Urdu, Persian, Marathi, and Telugu and worked with the British to serve as an emissary of peace and sent to the court of Haider Ali in Mysore.

[1] He worked alongside the Indian royal families, tutoring the Raja Serfoji of Tanjore, and was influential in establishing Protestant Christianity in southern India.

In 1779, Schwarz undertook, at the request of the British authorities in Madras (present day Chennai), a private embassy to Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore.

[8][9] Schwarz's direct success in making converts exceeded that of any other Protestant missionary in India, in addition to which he succeeded in winning the esteem of Muslims and Hindus.

The raja of Tanjore erected a monument, executed by John Flaxman, in the mission church, in which he is represented as grasping the hand of the dying missionary and receiving his benediction.

Devoted from his Early Manhood to the Office of Missionary in the East, the similarity of his situation to that of the first preachers of the gospel, produced in him a peculiar resemblance to the simple sanctity of the apostolic character.

For sovereign princes, Hindu, and Mahomeden selected this humble pastor as the medium of political negotiations with the British Government - Maha Raja Serfojee Media related to Christian Friedrich Schwartz at Wikimedia Commons