John Selwyn was an Anglican priest who served as the second Bishop of Melanesia and later as the second Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge. Born in Waimate, New Zealand, in 1844, he was the son of Bishop George Augustus Selwyn. After studying at Eton and Trinity College, he achieved success as a rower by winning Silver Goblets at Henley in 1864. His ecclesiastical career included serving as a vicar in Wolverhampton before he began missionary work in Melanesia in 1873.