SPRING, Francis. 17?? — 18??. Rev. British Missionary of Church Missionary Society in India. M.A. Chaplain of Madras Army in Tellicherry from before 1817, when he founded a school there. Returned to the U.K. in 1824. The first name is somewhat uncertain, some Internet sources call him Frederic James. On…
SMYTH, William Henry Carmichael. England 30.7.1780 — Alloway, Ayrshire 9.9.1861. British Colonial Officer in India. Son of James Carmichael Smyth, a Scottish physician. and his wife Mary, educated at Charterhouse School. In 1797 joined Bengal Artillery, after an expedition to South-East Asia served in Allahabad and Agra. In 1807 returned to…
SMITH, Lewis Ferdinand. 17?? — 18??. British Colonial Officer in India. Son of Major Lewis Lucius Smith (d. 1794) of Indian army. Major in Scindia’s service. Secretary to Sir Harford Jones, Ambassador to Persia. Married with Ann Mitchell Nicholls, father of General Lucius Horton Smith (1793–1858). Publications: “A Chronological table of the…
SHEA, David. Limerick county 1777 — Haileybury 10.5.1836. British (Irish) Persian Scholar. Professor at Haileybury. Son of Daniel Shea, a farmer. Studied Classics at Dublin from 1793, in 1898 expelled as nationalist, having refused an oath to government, and went to England. He worked as tutor in London, then as…
SEBASTIANI, Leopoldo. Rome 1770 — Rome 5.9.1843. Father. Italian Missionary. Son of Vincenzo S. Worked as sub-librarian in Vatican before taking missionary career, working for Propaganda Fide. Before 1821 he had spent ten years in Turkey and, after a brief sejour in Rome, five in Persia and Afghanistan (1803-1808) and…
SCRAFTON, Luke. 1732 (?) — at sea near Cape of Good Hope 1770. Britishman in E.I.C.’s service. In 1756 in Dacca prisoner of the Nawab of Bengal. Then assisted Clive. After the Battle of Plassey Resident at Durbar of Murshidabad, then in Calcutta Council. Back in the U.K. one of…
SCHMID, Ludwig Bernhard Ehregott. Lobeda (now part of Jena) 20.3.1788 — Calicut (Kozhikode) 20.10.1857. Rev. German Missionary in South India. Son of Rev. Rudolf Ludwig Schmid and his wife (d. 1806). After gymnasium in Naumburg studied theology at Jena. Worked as tutor and planned to go to Paris for learning Sanskrit, but instead…
SALT, Henry. Lichfield, Staffordshire 14.6.1780 — Desouk 80 km east of Alexandria, Egypt 30.10.1827. British Diplomat, Traveller, Collector of Antiquities and Pioneer of Egyptology. Son of physician Thomas Salt and Alice Butt, educated in Lichfield, Market Bosworth and Birmingham. Trained as portrait-painter and went to London in 1797, but soon…
ROUSSEAU, Samuel Kent. London, bapt. 20.9.1763 — London 4.12.1820. British Printer and Oriental Scholar. He is said to be a distant relative of J. J. Rousseau, of the English Huguenot branch of the family, descending from J. J. Rousseau’s great uncle, who had moved to London, but others deny this. Son of…
ROSENMÜLLER, Ernst Friedrich Karl. Heßberg bei Hildburghausen 10.12.1768 — Leipzig 17.9.1835. German Arabist and Protestant Theologian. Son of Johann Georg R. (1736–1815), a minister and rationalist theologian. Gymnasium in Giessen, studies at Leipzig, Ph.D. 1788. PD 1792, in 1796-1813 ao. Professor of Arabic, 1813-35 ord. Professor of Oriental Languages at Leipzig. Also…