Moffat, Robert (1795-1883), a Scottish missionary, devoted his life in South Africa to educating the Tswana people and converting them to Christianity. He taught himself to speak Tswana (also called Setswana). He then translated Christian works into the language and had them printed.
Moffat was born on Dec. 21, 1795, in Ormiston, Scotland. In 1816, he was sent to South Africa by the London Missionary Society. He arrived in the Cape Colony in 1817. In 1821, he and his wife established a mission station in Kuruman, north of the frontier of the colony. Moffat not only preached Christianity but also taught the Tswana new approaches to agriculture and irrigation. He protected them from attacks and even fought on their behalf. The much-feared Ndebele king, Mzilikazi, met him in 1835, and they became lifelong friends. The British explorer and missionary David Livingstone joined Moffat and his wife. Livingstone married their daughter Mary in 1844. Moffat died on Aug. 8, 1883.
