Kenneth Crosby

Kenneth Crosby (1904–1998) was a British Wesleyan missionary, a Bible translator and language scholar, who worked in Sierra Leone. He is best known for his work in the Mende language.

Crosby was born on 12 May 1904 at Briton Ferry, near Neath in South Wales to Rev Harry Crosby and his wife; after leaving high school he became a Wesleyan Methodist preacher. He studied at the University of London and graduated with a BD degree in 1927, then a BA in philosophy from the same university. He left for Sierra Leone in 1929, though returned to Britain temporarily in 31, where he was ordained and also married to his fiancee Dorothy.

In Sierra Leone, his service included being a part of a team that translating the Bible into Mende, helping to found the Bunumbu Press, and serving as the first principal of Bunumbu Union College (now Bunumbu Teachers College).

Crosby retired in 1971 and moved to Craneigh in Surrey; he died on 23rd March 1998.