# Edward Steere

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English Anglican colonial bishop

lithograph of Edward Steere

**Edward Steere** (1828 - 26 August 1882) was an English Anglican [colonial](/source/Colony) [bishop](/source/Bishop) in the 19th century.[1]

## Life

Steere was educated at [London University](/source/London_University) and [ordained](/source/Ordained) in 1850.[2] After [curacies](/source/Curate) in [Devon](/source/Devon) and [Lincolnshire](/source/Lincolnshire), he joined [William Tozer](/source/William_Tozer) (Bishop in Central Africa) on a mission to Nyasaland in 1863.[3] He was appointed [Bishop in Central Africa](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bishop_in_Central_Africa&action=edit&redlink=1)[4] in 1874 and died on 26 August 1882.[5]

Steere spent several periods in Zanzibar, 1864–68, 1872–74, and 1877–82. In 1873 he placed the foundation stone at [Christ Church, Zanzibar](/source/Christ_Church%2C_Zanzibar), in Stone Town, Zanzibar. The cathedral was based on his vision; its concrete roof shaped in a [barrel vault](/source/Barrel_vault) was Steere's idea. He also worked with [David Livingstone](/source/David_Livingstone) to abolish slavery in Zanzibar. He is buried behind the altar in the church.[6] David Livingstone's aides [James Chuma and Abdullah Susi](/source/Chuma_and_susi) were part of an expedition led by Steere. Chuma was captain of the expedition and both men acted as interpreters.[7]

## Works

Steere was a considerable linguist and published works on several East African languages and dialects, including [Shambala](/source/Shambala_language), [Yao](/source/Yao_language), [Nyamwezi](/source/Nyamwezi_language), and [Makonde](/source/Makonde_language). But he is especially known for his work on [Swahili](/source/Swahili_language), publishing a *Handbook of Swahili* in 1870, and he also translated or revised the translation into Swahili of a large part of the Bible.[8]

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Zanzibar Christians"](http://www.zanzibarhistory.org/zanzibar_christians.htm). *www.zanzibarhistory.org*. Retrieved 4 April 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [The Times](/source/The_Times), Tuesday, Aug 29, 1882; pg. 6; Issue 30598; col D *Obituary*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Heanley, R. M. *A Memoir of Edward Steere, D.D. Ll.D., Third Missionary Bishop in Central Africa.* (see External links).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-RangerKimambo1976_4-0)** Ranger, Terence O.; Kimambo, Isaria N. (1976). [*The Historical Study of African Religion*](https://books.google.com/books?id=KPcGrcVAlowC). University of California Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-520-03179-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-520-03179-1).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [The Times](/source/The_Times), Tuesday, Sep 19, 1882; pg. 4; Issue 30616; col F *Bishop Steere And His Work*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** 'Workers at the church'

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Waller, Horace (1876). "Paths into the Slave Preserves of East Africa". *LSE Selected Pamphlets*: 9–23. [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [60221873](https://www.jstor.org/stable/60221873).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [Harris, Charles Alexander](/source/Charles_Alexander_Harris) (1898). ["Steere, Edward"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Steere,_Edward). *[Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography)*. Vol. 54. pp. 141–142.

## See also

- [Christianity portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Christianity)

- [Annie Allen (missionary)](/source/Annie_Allen_(missionary))

## References

- ["The Bishop Of Grahamstown *(sic)* On The Progress Of The Church"](http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000206/18770813/044/0006). *Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser*. 13 August 1877. Retrieved 2014-09-07 – via [British Newspaper Archive](/source/British_Newspaper_Archive). Steere was never Bishop of Grahamstown

- ["Ecclesiastical Intelligence"](http://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/viewarticle?id=bl%2f0000174%2f18750108%2f012). *Morning Post*. 8 January 1875. Retrieved 2014-09-07 – via The [British Newspaper Archive](/source/British_Newspaper_Archive) and [FindMyPast](/source/FindMyPast).

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Edward Steere](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Edward_Steere).

English [Wikisource](/source/Wikisource) has original works by or about:

**[Edward Steere](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/en:Author:Edward_Steere)**

- [Works by Edward Steere](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/9528) at [Project Gutenberg](/source/Project_Gutenberg)

- [Works by Edward Steere](https://librivox.org/author/12193) at [LibriVox](/source/LibriVox) (public domain audiobooks)

- [Works by or about Edward Steere](https://archive.org/search.php?query=%28%28subject%3A%22Steere%2C%20Edward%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Edward%20Steere%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Steere%2C%20Edward%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Edward%20Steere%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Steere%2C%20E%2E%22%20OR%20title%3A%22Edward%20Steere%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Steere%2C%20Edward%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Edward%20Steere%22%29%20OR%20%28%221828-1882%22%20AND%20Steere%29%29%20AND%20%28-mediatype:software%29) at the [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive)

- [Robert Marshall Heanley (1898) *A Memoir of Edward Steere, D.D., LL.D.*, Office of the Universities' Mission to Central Africa, London (Google ebook)](https://books.google.com/books?id=XMgmAQAAIAAJ)

- [Harris, Charles Alexander](/source/Charles_Alexander_Harris) (1898). ["Steere, Edward"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Steere,_Edward). *[Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography)*. Vol. 54. pp. 141–142.

- [Steere's *A Handbook of the Swahili Language as spoken at Zanzibar*](https://books.google.com/books?id=7FlKAAAAcAAJ) original 1870 edition.

- [Steere's *A Handbook of the Swahili Language as spoken at Zanzibar*](https://archive.org/details/handbookswahili00stee) revised by A.C. Madan 1894.

Church of England titles Preceded by William Tozer Bishop in Central Africa 1874 –1882 Succeeded by Charles Alan Smythies

v t e Anglican bishops in Malawi Central Africa Charles Mackenzie William Tozer Edward Steere Charles Smythies (diocese divided into Nyasaland and Zanzibar) Nyasaland Wilfrid Hornby Chauncy Maples (as Bishop of Likoma) John Hine (as Bishop of Likoma) Gerard Trower Cathrew Fisher Gerald Douglas Frank Thorne Donald Arden (title changed to Bishop of Malawi; later, diocese divided into Southern Malawi and Lake Malawi) Southern Malawi Donald Arden Dunstan Ainani Nathaniel Aipa James Tengatenga Alinafe Kalemba Lake Malawi Josiah Mtekateka Peter Nyanja Jameson Mwenda Francis Kaulanda Daniel Kalonga Northern Malawi Jackson Biggers Christopher Boyle Fanuel Magangani Upper Shire Bernard Malango Brighton Vita Malasa William Mchombo

v t e Christianity in Africa Sovereign states Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe States with limited recognition Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland Dependencies and other territories Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom) Western Sahara

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Edward Steere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Steere) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Steere?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.