BIGANDET, Paul-Ambroise. Malans (Doubs) 13.8.1813 — Rangoon 19.4.1894. French Catholic Missionary and Buddhist Scholar. Fifty years in Burma. Educated in Besançon and at the seminary of Missions Etrangères in Paris (two years there). In 1837 ordained as priest and sent as missionary to Malacca, later moved to Burma. From 1852…
BIESE, Yrjö Moses Jalmari. Helsinki 4.1.1903 — Helsinki 7.11.1983. Finnish Indologist and Linguist (Classical Philology and English). Professor in Turku. Son of Ernst Hjalmar Biese, a procurator, and Helmi Katarina Ahlman, a painter. Matriculated 1921 from Helsingin Normaalilyseo. Studies of classical and modern languages and Sanskrit at Helsinki: Kand.phil. 1924,…
BIDDULPH, John. Ledbury, Hereforshire 25.7.1840 — Gray Court, London 31.12.1921. British Colonial Officer and Anthropologist in India. Son of Robert Biddulph (1801–1864, a Whig M.P.) and Elizabeth Palmer, educated at Westminster School. He “entered the Bengal Cavalry and arrived in India 1858. Served in the mutiny, joined the Indian Staff…
BIDDULPH, Charles Hubert. Abu, Rajasthan 28.7.1898 — London 11/16.10.1966. British Engineer and Numismatist in India. Son of Charles Bidduplh (1867–1937) and Mary Amelia Butterworth Bell. Educated at Philander Smith College in Nainital and Crystal Palace School of Engineering in London. In 1924 joined the South Indian Railway as Assistant Engineer,…
BIČURIN, Iakinf (Hyacinth, originally Nikita Jakovlevič). Akulevo, Tsivil’skij district, Kazan Province 29.8.1777* — St.Petersburg 11.5.1853. Russian (Čuvaš) Monk, Orthodox Priest, Sinologist and Central Asian Scholar. Son of Jakov, a deacon, and Akelina Stepanovna. From 1786 studied theology and languages at Kazan Ecclesiastical Academy, graduated 1799, then lecturer there. Ordained as…
BICKELL, Gustav Wilhelm Hugo. Kassel 7.7.1838 — Vienna 25.1.1906. German Oriental (Semitic) Scholar in Austria. Son of Johann Wilhelm Bickel (1799–1844), Professor of Canonical Law at Marburg, and Maria Kaup. Gymnasium in Marburg. From 1857 studies of theology and philology at Marburg and Halle, Ph.D. 1862 Marburg, from the same…
BIANCHI, Ugo. Cavriglia, Arezzo 13.10.1922 — Firenzuola, Florence 14.4.1995. Italian Scholar of Iranian Religion. Son of a parastatal employee, grew up in Rome. Studies of classical philology, ancient history and especially History of Religions at Sapienza in Rome under Pettazzoni. Ph.D. 1944. In 1952-56 member of Istituto italiano per la…
BHARATI, Agehananda (Leopold Fischer), Swami. Vienna 20.4.1923 — Rochester, NY 14.5.1991. Austrian-born Indologist, Tantric Scholar and Anthropologist, for a long time living in India, then in the U.S.A. Naturalised 1968 as U.S. citizen. Professor in Syracuse. Son of Hans Fischer and Margarethe von May. Grew up in Vienna, during war…
BEZZENBERGER, Adalbert. Kassel 14.4.1851 — Königsberg 31.10.1922. German IE scholar. Professor in Königsberg. Son of the Germanist scholar Heinrich Ernst B. (1814-1892) and Amalie Wiederhold. After school in Kassel studies of Sanskrit and IE philology under Benfey at Göttingen. Ph.D. 1872 Göttingen. PD 1874 ibid. From 1879 Professor of Sanskrit…
BEYTHAN, Hermann. Teichel bei Rudolstadt, Thüringen 29.5.1875 — 1945?. German Missionary and Indologist (Tamil Scholar). Son of a farmer. After Mission School in Leipzig in 1895-1901 he was ordained priest and sent to India. Arrived in February 1902, he worked in Erode, at Fabrizius School in Madras and in 1905-09…