David Asante

David Asante (23 December 1834 – 13 October 1892) was a philologist, linguist, translator and the first Akan native missionary of the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society. He was the second African to be educated in Europe by the Basel Mission after the Americo-Liberian pastor, George Peter Thompson.

Early life and education

David Asante was born on 23 December 1834 at Akropong-Akuapem, capital of Akuapem, a state 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Accra. As a child, he began his formal education when his father gave him to the Basel missionary, Johann G. Widmann as a houseboy and a year later, he was sent to J. C. Dieterle to become a personal assistant in his household. He learnt English during his time with the two missionaries who described him as hardworking and bright.

In August 1857, the church awarded him a bursary for further training as a priest at the Basel Mission Seminary in Basel, Switzerland. For five years, he received instruction in theology, philosophy, linguistics and philology. In 1860, while in Basel, his brother Oforikae joined him but died a year later from tuberculosis. Several royal courtiers including his relatives lost slaves as a result of his campaign.

Selected works David Asante's published works include: Asante, David (1875) “” (“Christianity in Germany”), Basel (Twi translation) Asante, David (1912) “” (“Twi Reading Book”), Books I-IV, 5th ed., Basel Asante, David “” (“Pilgrim’s Progress”) by John Bunyan, Basel, (Twi translation) Asante, David,“” PHB Twi Hymn 832

Personal life On July 28, 1864, David Asante married Lydia Martha Otuwa, a Ga woman from Osu, Accra who was a teacher at the girls’ boarding school at Abokobi.

Death In early October 1892, he suffered a stroke during a church service at the Christ Presbyterian Church in his hometown, Akropong. Schlatter, W. (1916) “Geschichte der Basler Mission 1815-1915” (“History of the Basel Mission”), Basel, Smith, N. (1966) “The Presbyterian Church of Ghana 1835-1960,” Accra Articles by David Asante in “The Christian Messenger,” between 1883 and 1890, Basel