CASSIANO DA MACERATA (lay Giovanni Beligatti). Macerata 1708 — Macerata 4.2.1791. Italian Missionary and a Pioneer of Indology, in India and Tibet in 1739-56. Son of Gaetano Beligatti and Margarita Compagnucci. In 1725 joined the Capuchin order in their monastery at his home-town Macerata. In 1738 he was selected with…
CAREY, William. Paulerspury, Northamptonshire 17.8.1761 — Serampur 9.6.1834. British Missionary and Pioneer of Indology, in India 1794–1834. Son of Edmund C., a village schoolmaster, and Elizabeth Wells, became in the age of 14 apprentice to a shoemaker in Hackleton. He was interested in religion and joined the Baptists in 1783.…
CAMPBELL, Alexander Duncan. 6.1.1786 (hardly 1789) — 4.4.1857. British (Scottish) Civil Servant in India, interested in Telugu. Served in Madras Civil Service, in 1806 Collector and Magistrate in Bellary (1821 still there), 1816 Member of the Board of Superintendence for College of Fort St. George, 1827 in Tanjore, remained in…
CALMETTE, Jean. Rodez (Aveyron) 5.5.1692 (not 1693) — Chickballapur, Karnataka ?.2.1740 (hardly 1739). S.J. French Missionary and a Pioneer of Indology. He joined the S.J. in Toulouse in 1709 (not in 1720!). Ordained 1725 and left for India in 1726 and worked at Carnatic mission, in Carveypondi (near Vellore), Ballapuram…
CAIN, John. 184? — 17.3.1917. Rev. British Missionary in India. Arrived in India in 1869, from 1874 in Dummagudem in Godavari dt. working there until his death. Married 1880 Sarah Davies (d. 1934), the first Australian missionary in India. He collected notes about Dravidian tribal languages and customs and participated…
BURROW, Reuben. Hoberley, near Shadwell, Leeds 30.12.1747 — Baxar, Bihar 7.6.1792. British Mathematician in India. “Son of a farmer, educated at Leeds. Became a clerk, usher, schoolmaster, assistant astronomer and schoolmaster at Greenwich, arithmetical teacher at the Tower, edited the Royal Almanack. Went to India in 1782, learnt Sanskrit.” In…
BURNOUF, Jean-Louis. Urville near Valognes 14.9.1775 — Paris 8.5.1844. French Classical Scholar interested in Sanskrit. Professor in Paris. Father of —> E. Burnouf. One of the 8 children of a poor weaver, lost early his father. In 1793 matriculated from the collège of Harcourt, without means had to work as…
BURNEY, Henry. 27.2.1792 — at sea 4.3.1845. British Colonial Officer (Captain, 1834 Lieutenant-Colonel) and Diplomat in South-East Asia (Burma). Son of Richard Thomas and Jane B., father was the headmaster of Orphan School at Kidderpore near Calcutta. Attached to the 20th Marine N.I. served at Prince of Wales’ Island (now…
BUNSEN, Christian Karl Josias (then Karl, Freiherr von Bunsen). Korbach, Waldeck 25.8.1791 — Bonn 28.11.1860. German Diplomat and Scholar. Son of a Dutch officer Heinrich Christian B., who died already before his birth in 1790 (but see below), and Johanette Brocken. School in Korbach, studies of theology and philology at…
BUCHANAN-HAMILTON, Francis (until 1815 Francis Buchanan). Branziet, Callander, Pertshire 15.2.1762 — 15.6.1829. British (Scottish) Physician in India, Traveller, Naturalist, a Pioneer of Burmese Studies and of Indian Archaeology. Son of Thomas B., a physician, and Elizabeth Hamilton, took himself a M.D. at Edinburgh in 1783. After serving on a war…