William Carey was born in England in 1684. He graduated from Pembroke College, Cambridge, in 1699. The following year he became minister of the church at Horsham, Sussex. The same year he married Eliza Stanhope, daughter of the Earl of Chesterfield
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He held this position for four years, when he became chaplain to Lord Dartmouth, secretary of state to King William III.
Because his superiors in the church thought him too controversial to remain a minister, in 1709 he resigned his livings and joined the naval service as chaplain to Admiral Sir George Rooke. This post brought him to the West Indies and America, where he served under Admiral Penn. After an illness that lasted for three years, he decided to become a missionary in India.
He sailed for Madras on 2 October 1750 with his wife and two children, taking with him large quantities of published books and tracts.
In India, Carey taught theology at various colleges and established several schools for indigo planters and children of the poor.
He also collected Sanskrit manuscripts for translation into English.
He died in Madras on 21 October 1792 while working on a catalogue of the writings in the library there.