William Percival Johnson

Who was William Percival Johnson?

William Percival Johnson was an Anglican missionary to Nyasaland. After graduation from Cambridge University he went to Africa with the Universities' Mission to Central Africa, under Bishop Edward Steere.

He translated the Bible into Chinyanja, which was published in 1912.

He died at Liuli, Mbinga District, on the shores of what is today the Tanzanian side of Lake Malawi in 1928, the site of the largest mission in the Ruvuma region of Tanzania. He is regarded locally as a saint and there is a "St Johnson's Day" celebrated. Local demands for his canonization were referred by letter to the Lambeth Conference in 1958, where a compromise that he was regarded as "Blessed" was offered. The Anglican Diocese of South West Tanganyika continues to regard Johnson as a saint.