Ola Hanson (June 25, 1864, in

Åhus Åhus () is the second largest urban areas in Sweden, locality in Kristianstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden, with 9,840 inhabitants in 2015, but the number triples during the summer due to tourists who come seeking the beaches and nature o ...

, Sweden – October 17, 1929, in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

) was a Swedish-American missionary who worked with the Kachin people in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. Hanson came to the United States in 1881, settling in

Oakland, Nebraska Oakland is a city in Burt County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,244 at the 2010 census. Oakland continues to build on its strong foundation with its bi-annual Swedish Festival and is known by its proclamation from the Swedish C ...

. He attended the Swedish Baptist (later Bethel) Seminary in

, graduated from Madison Theological Seminary in

Hamilton, New York Hamilton is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York, Madison County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 6,379 at the 2020 census. The town is named after American Founding Father ...

, and was ordained in 1890. Hanson was sent to

Kachin State Kachin State (; Jingpho language, Kachin: ) is the northernmost administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet and Yunnan, respectively), Shan State to the sou ...

in 1890 by the

American Baptist Missionary Union International Ministries is an international Baptist Christian missionary society. It is a constituent board affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. The headquarters is in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, United States. History The soc ...

to help William Henry Roberts, who was running a Kachin mission in

Bhamo Bhamo ( ''ban: mau mrui.'', also spelt Banmaw), historically known as Manmaw (; ) or Hsinkai () is a city in Kachin State in northern Myanmar, south of the state capital, (Myitkyina). It is on the Ayeyarwady River. It lies within of the border ...

city, and was followed in 1892 by George J. Geis, who established a mission at

Myitkyina Myitkyina (, ; Jingpho language, Jinghpaw: ''Myitkyina'', ; , ''Sèna'') is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar (Burma), located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese language, Burmese it means "near the big river", and Myitkyina i ...

. His team formulated an orthography for the Kachin language using the Latin alphabet, and created a grammar and Katchin–English dictionary. He then began translating the Bible into Kachin. Hanson established a mission in

Namkham Namhkam (; ; ), also spelled Nam Kham is the principal town of Namhkam Township in northern Shan State, Myanmar, situated on the southern bank of the Shweli River near the border with Yunnan Province, China. History The region surrounding Namhkam ...

in the Hsenwi District in 1910. He wrote ''The Kachins, Their Customs and Traditions'' (Rangoon, 1913) and ''Missionary Pioneers among the Kachins'' (New York, 1922). After living with the Kachin people for 28 years, he returned to his native Nebraska in 1928. He died in St. Paul, Minnesota, on October 17, 1929.https://kachinblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/dr-ola-hanson-06.html

References

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, Ola People from Oakland, Nebraska Baptist missionaries from the United States Swedish Baptist missionaries Baptist missionaries in Myanmar 1929 deaths 1864 births American expatriates in Myanmar Swedish emigrants to the United States 19th-century Baptists 20th-century Baptists People from Åhus 19th-century American linguists 20th-century American linguists American missionary linguists