Emmons E. White

Emmons E. White
Born	1891
Died	1982
Occupation	Missionary
Known for	TranslatingTirukkuralinto English
Spouse	Ruth Parker White (1895–1989)
Children	Robin White (born 1928)

Emmons E. White(1891–1982) was aChristianmissionaryinSouth India.He is best known for his work onTamil musicand hisEnglish translationof theTirukkural.

Biography

Emmons E. White was married to Ruth Parker White (1895–1989), both of whom served as missionaries in southeastern India from 1917 to 1957. Their interests included the education and care of children, famine relief, a hospital for lepers, Christian churches in the region, and Tamil music. They had a daughter, Laura Ruth (born 1922), a son, William Robinson (born 1928) and another son, Stephen, born 1933. The also adopted a daughter, Sakundula, who was orphaned during World War II.

In 1968, White translated select couplets of the Tirukkural into English in verse form and published it in his workThe Wisdom of India.Later in 1976, these were published as another work of his titledThe Wisdom of the Tamil People.White considered Tirukkural as "a synthesis of the best moral teachings of the world."

Publications

Following are the works published by Emmons E. White:

• Kālakṣēpamum cuvicēsṣap piraccāramum(Tamil) (with V. Jeyaraj and Ṭ. Srinivas Iyengar) (1955)
• Appreciating India's music: An introduction to the music of India, with suggestions for its use in the churches of India(1957)
• The wisdom of India(1968)
• Appreciating India's music: An introduction, with an emphasis on the music of South India(1971)
• The wisdom of the Tamil people, as illustrated by translated selections from their ancient literature(1975)

See also

• Tirukkural translations
• Tirukkural translations into English
• List of translators into English

External links

• Emmons E. White on Biblio.com