Born c. 1621, Linz, Austria
Died September 30, 1680, Saros Patak, Hungary

Johann Grüber was born around 1621 in the Austrian city of Linz. He entered a Jesuit seminary where he studied mathematics before deciding to become a missionary priest. In 1656 he volunteered to travel to China to work with Roman Catholic missionaries. Accompanied by Father Bernard Diestel, he set sail from Italy.

Reaches Chinese mission

Arriving at the port of Izmir in Turkey, Grüber and Diestel traveled over land through parts of the Ottoman Empire (what is now Syria and Iraq), Armenia, and Persia (now Iran). When they reached the great port city of Ormuz on the Persian Gulf, they boarded a second ship that took them to the city of Surat on the west coast of India, north of Bombay. There they had a ten-month stay as they tried to...