Hudson Taylor was born in 1832 in Tingwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland. His mother died when he was five years old. After this tragedy, he was raised by his grandparents. He began learning to read at age 6 and began teaching himself to write when he was 10 years old
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He taught himself Greek and Latin at the same time. At the age of 16, Hudson left for Australia where he worked in a sheep station until he was 21 years old. At this time he felt called to preach the Gospel.
He came to China in 1861 in spite of opposition from his own father in order to spread the Gospel there. This decision would change his life forever for it would lead him to become one of the most influential missionaries in the history of Christianity - alongside John Wesley and William Carey. Hudson preached throughout Asia and many parts of Africa before returning to England in 1875.
He wrote many books including his autobiography, The Call to Greatness, which discusses how God can use even ordinary people like us to do extraordinary things. He died in 1899 after spending his last years preaching around England and America - despite failing eyesight - where he remained popular for decades after his death because of his unique gift of communicating God's powerful message through stories told with humor and grace.