George Uglow Pope
Birth: 24-04-1820
Death:11-02-1908
Native Place: Prince Edward Island
Country : Canada
Place of Vision: India
George Uglow Pope was an Anglican Christian missionary from Canada. His father was a tradesman who gave up trading to become a missionary in Nova Scotia, Canada. The family later moved to England in 1826. George studied at the Wesleyan schools in Bury and Hoxton. While he was yet very young, he heard a missionary spoke about the ministry among the Tamilians in Madras. He started learning Tamil straightaway. He was just 19 years old when he joined the Wesleyan Mission in Madras in 1839.
In 1841, George joined the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) and was posted at Sawyerpuram (Tuticorin district). In 1844, he was ordained as a priest and later became the regional superintendent of the mission. His energy and love to carry the gospel knew no bounds and yielded great results. He established a seminary there to train the young missionaries and the clergy. He also ministered in the Tirunelveli region. After the death of his wife in 1845, he served for some time in Madras and then went to England for a brief period.
Returning to India in 1851, he took the charge of S.P.G.’s work at Tanjore. However, when his health started failing, he resigned his connection with S.P.G. and concentrated on establishing schools in Sawyerpuram, Ootacamund, and Bangalore. He was an ideal teacher and disciplinarian. He is credited for introducing systematic teaching methods in the Indian education system. He also translated several important Tamil classics into English which include Tirukkural and Thiruvasagam. He went back to England in 1881 where he continued to teach the students in a college in Oxford. George who was fondly called as ‘Pope Aiyer’ (a courtesy nickname) went to be with the Lord at a ripe old age of 88.