John Patteson was an English Anglican bishop and missionary who served as the first Bishop of Melanesia. Born in London in 1827, he was a gifted linguist who mastered 23 different local languages to better communicate with the indigenous peoples of the South Sea Islands. Throughout his ministry, he focused on educating local youths to become leaders within their own communities. He died on the island of Nukapu in 1871, and he is remembered as a saint in the Anglican tradition.