Rev. David Asante was the first African educated in Europe by the Basel missionaries. They were a protestant but non-denominational mission. A major focus for the mission was to create employment opportunities for the people of the area where each mission is located. To this end the society taught printing, tile manufacturing, and weaving, and employed people in these fields.
David Asante’s work largely occurred in the Eastern region of Ghana, in Akropong and the Akyem Abuakwa State. He is remembered significantly for not so much his missionary work, but his scholarly work in the field of linguistics. He contributed significantly to the translation of the Bible into Twi and is thus the author of the Twi Bible that is in use to this day. He worked with the linguist Johann Gottlieb Christaller, helping him to collect Twi words and idioms. After returning from Switzerland, he continued his work on Twi grammar and a dictionary. Asante personally translated several books into Twi, including John Bunyan's "The Pilgrims Progress" and a general history which together with his letters to Christaller, constitute some of the earliest texts ever written in the Twi language. He died in Akropong on October 13, 1892.
A link to his biography follows: