William Knibb was born on this day in 1803.  His father made no profession of faith, but his mother did, and she did her best to see that her children attended the Independent chapel in Kettering, England. It was there that the gospel seed was planted.  Over time, it bore fruit in God’s salvation, and eventually both William, and his brother Thomas, were baptized by John Ryland, joining the Baptist church he pastored.  When Thomas was apprenticed to the printing business of Andrew Fuller’s son, Thomas and William became familiar with the missionary work of William Carey.  Not only did the brothers become burdened for the work in India, they also took an interest in the enslaved people of Jamaica.  Thomas was the first to sail for the Carribean, but he died just a few months into his missionary service.  William then volunteered to replace him.  That was the beginning of a positive ministry of preaching Christ and his hatred of the slave trade.  As William Knibb filled more and more of his time with preaching to the blacks, the white leadership of the Island began their assault on his work. They said that in turning the thoughts of their slaves toward heaven, they didn’t work as hard as they should.  In 1832 William returned to England in an attempt to get the British government to abolish slavery.  When he arrived he found some support, but also a great deal of opposition.  When he was summoned to appear before one of the Parliamentary committees, it is recorded that “his evidence was complete and unassailable; and it contributed largely, more largely perhaps, than that of any other single witness, to the general impression which then took root in the public mind that slavery must be abolished. ”William Knibb died at the age of 42, but his impact on both temporal and spiritual slavery was greatly blessed by God.

– Source: “This Day in Baptist History, II” – Cummins and Thompson