Background
David Jones was born in Penrhiw, near Neuaddlwyd, Cardiganshire.
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David Jones
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He studied under Thomas Phillips at the Neuaddlwyd Academy and later at Llanfyllin.
Career
A gifted linguist, he was noted for establishing the orthography of the Malagasy language and for his translation of the Bible into Malagasy, a work that he undertook with fellow missionary David Griffiths. He was ordained at Neuaddlwyd on 20 and 21 August 1817. Directed by the Learning Management System to serve in Madagascar, Jones and Bevan with their families landed at Tamatave from Mauritius in September 1818.
He gave himself to educational and religious work among the Malagasy population, opening a number of schools.
He settled at Antananarivo in 1820. By 1828, there were 37 schools, 44 teachers, and 2,309 students.
A "Malagasy Schooling Society" was established and King Radama 1 took great personal interest in lieutenant In consultation with the king, Jones devised an orthographic system for the Malagasy language.
In conjunction with David Griffiths, Jones translated the Bible into Malagasy.
With the help of David Johns, he also published a spelling book, a catechism and a hymnary. Jones returned to Mauritius, which he used as a base for evangelisation. Suffering from malaria, he died there in 1841.
London: London Missionary Society, c.1908.
London: Capsey, 1933. Joyce Reason, Storm over Madagascar: David Jones.
London: Carrgate Press, 1937.
