William Seaman

William Seaman (1606–1680) was an orientalist, and first translator of the New Testament into Turkish. After graduating at Balliol College in Oxford in 1626, he was appointed rector of Upton-Scudamore in 1628. Soon after his institution he travelled to Constantinople, and there entered the service of Sir Peter Wyche, the English ambassador. In 1652 Seaman published a translation from the Turkish of Hojah Effendi's ‘Reign of the Sultan Orchan,’ and dedicated it to Lady Jane Merick, who had formerly been the wife of Sir Peter Wyche. After 1650 Seaman commenced his magnum opus, the translation of the New Testament into Turkish. It was published at Oxford in 1666. It remained the only printed Turkish version for over a century. In 1670 Seaman published a Turkish grammar. At this time Seaman had a house in Whitecross Alley in Moorfields. He died in 1680 and was buried in the church of Upton-Scudamore, having held the rectory for fifty-two years. He is stated to have been a moderate nonconformist.