
Augustus Alwin Farnham (20 May 1805 – 2 May 1865
) was an
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
in Utah and a
Mormon missionary
Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—often referred to as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and ...
.
Farnham was born May 20, 1805, in
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...
.
[ In 1843, Farnham converted to ]Mormonism
Mormonism is the theology and religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to va ...
. In 1845, he was ordained a Seventy and was called to a mission in Australia, arriving in Sydney in 1851. From 1853 to May 1856, he was the president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
of the mission
Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to:
Geography Australia
*Mission River (Queensland)
Canada
*Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality
* Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood
* ...
In October 1854, Farnham, William Cooke, and Thomas Holder traveled to Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
and became the first missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
in New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
.["Facts and Statistics: New Zealand"]
Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org. The three preached in Auckland, Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
, and Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
, after which Farnham returned to Australia, leaving Cooke and Holder to continue preaching.[
Farnham's most important architectural work was the Bountiful Tabernacle, a ]Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...
monument, which was known worldwide. This building, located at Main and Center Streets in Bountiful, Utah
Bountiful is a city in Davis County, Utah. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 45,762, an eight percent increase over the 2010 figure of 42,552. The city grew rapidly during the suburb growth of the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s and ...
, is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
References
19th-century Mormon missionaries
American architects
Architects from Utah
Converts to Mormonism
Architects of Latter Day Saint religious buildings and structures
Latter Day Saints from Utah
Mission presidents (LDS Church)
American Mormon missionaries in Australia
American Mormon missionaries in New Zealand
People from Andover, Massachusetts
1805 births
1865 deaths
Latter Day Saints from Massachusetts
{{US-architect-19C-stub