Edward Steere (1828-1882) was born in London on 4 May 1928. He attended University College London, and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1850. He was ordained deacon in 1856, and priest in 1858. In 1862 he accompanied his friend William George Tozer to Central Africa, where they established a missionary centre at Zanzibar in 1864. Steere returned to England in 1868, but travelled back to Africa to continue his missionary work in 1872, and was ordained Bishop of Central Africa in 1874. In August 1875 he embarked on an expedition from Zanzibar to Lake Nyassa to find a site for a new missionary settlement. He travelled from the coast inland to Mwembe, where Chief Mataka resided, and returned in February 1876. In 1879 Steere issued a complete translation of the New Testament and prayer-book in Swahili, and that year presided over the opening of the Zanizbar cathedral church. During 1880 and 1881 he continued to work on the establishment of the Nyassa mission. He died in Zanzibar on 28 August 1882.