KETELAAR, Joan Josua (Johann Joshua K., Kettler, Kessler). Elbing, East Prussia (now Elbląg in Poland) 1659 — Bandar Abbas 1716. German Traveller. Son of Josua Kettler, a bookbinder, apprenticed to the same craft, but accused for stealing and attempted murder of his master had to escape to Stockholm. From 1682…
KEPHALAS, Nikolaos (Nicola Chiefala; Νικόλαος Κεφαλᾶς). Zakynthos 1763 or 1770 — Constaninople 1847 or Thessaloniki 1850. Greek Traveller in India. Born in a noble, but poor family in Zakynthos, Ionian Islands, then Venetian domain. Captain, participated in the Greek revolution from its very beginning (but also said to have been…
KENNEDY, Vans. Pinmore, Parish of Ayr 1784 — Bombay 28.12.1846. British (Scots) Colonial Officer and Indologist in India. Major-General. The youngest son of Robert K. of Pinmore, of an old Ayrshire family, and Robina Vans. The father lost his money in the bankruptcy of Ayr bank and had to sell…
KEENE, Henry George. 30.9.1781 — Tunbridge Wells, Kent 29.1.1864. Rev. British Civil Servant and Oriental Scholar in India. Professor in Haileybury. Son of Thomas Keene and Jane Harris, grandson of the architect Henry Keene (1726–1776), privately educated. In 1798 joined the Indian Army and participated in the siege of Seringapatam…
KARAMZIN, Nikolaj Mihajlovič. Znamenskoe estate, Mihailovka Simbirsk govt. 12.12.(1.12.)1766 — St.Petersburg 2.6.(22.5.)1826. Russian Literate and Historian. Son of a retired officer, Mihail Egorovič K. (1724–1783), and Ekaterina Petrovna Pazuhina (d. 1769), a noble family, but of modest means. Educated in Simbirsk and Moscow. Briefly in army in St.Petersburg, then studies…
HYDE, Thomas. Billingsley near Bridgnorth, Shropshire 29.6.1636 — Oxford 18.2.1703. English Oriental (Arabic and Persian) Scholar, a Pioneer of Zoroastrian Studies. Professor in Oxford. Son of Ralph Hyde, vicar of Billingsley, and Anne Jennings, educated at Eton. In the age of 16 began Arabic studies at Cambridge under Wheelock. He…
HUNTER, William. Montrose, Angus 1755 — Java ?.12.1812. British (Scottish) Physician in India. Educated at Marischal College and Aberdeen University (M.A. 1777). M.D. 1808. Joined the E.I.C.’S medical service in 1781. As naval surgeon 1782 he was driven to Burma by a storm. Worked as surgeon at Agra Residency, participated…
HUMBOLDT, Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Carl Ferdinand, Freiherr von. Potsdam 22.6.1767 — Tegel bei Berlin 8.4.1835. German Diplomat and Linguist interested in Sanskrit. Son of the Prussian Kammerherr and Major Alexander Georg von H. (1720–1779, his father Johannes Paul von H. had obtained the Prussian title of nobility in 1738) and…
HUMBOLDT, Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von. Berlin 14.9.1769 — Berlin 6.5.1859. German Geographer and Explorer. Son of the Prussian Kammerherr and Major Alexander Georg von H. (1720–1779, his father Johannes Paul von H. had obtained the Prussian title of nobility in 1738) and Marie Elisabeth von Holwede (a widow, née von…
HÜGEL, Carl Alexander Anselm, Freiherr von. Regensburg 25.4.1796 — Brussels 2.6.1870. Austrian Diplomat, Traveller, Naturalist and Horticulturist. Son of Johann Aloys Josef Fr. von H., a diplomat and statesman, and Anna von Holthof. Began law studies at Heidelberg, but soon, in 1811, joined Austrian army and served in Napoleonic and…