FERGUSSON, John. 17?? — Cape of God Hope 4.9.1773 (?). British Colonial Officer in India. Captain. The author of the first English Hindustani dictionary in 1773, describing the colloquial speech of soldiers for the use of officers, mixing together different forms of language (but with some preponderance of Magahī). Early…
FERGUSON, Donald William. Colombo 8.10.1853 — Croydon near London 29.6.1910. British (Scottish) Journalist and Scholar of Sri Lankan History (especially of Colonial Period). Son of —> Alastair M. Ferguson (1816–1892) and Anne Mackerras. The father came to Ceylon in 1837, was a long time the chief proprietor and editor of…
FERGUSON, Charles Albert (“Fergie”). Philadelphia, PA 6.7.1921 — Palo Alto, CAL 2.9.1998. U.S. Linguist and Bengali Scholar. Professor in Stanford. Born in a working-class family, grew up in Philadelphia From 1939 studies at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia: B.A. 1942, A.M. 1943 (thesis on Arabic), Ph.D. 1945 (Bengali). In 1946-55…
FENICIO, Jacobo (Jacome, Finicio). Capua c. 1558 — Cochin 1632. Father, S.J. Italian Missionary, in India 1583-1632, working in Malabar Mission, mainly in Cochin and Calicut (Kochi & Kozhikode). Around 1603/09 he wrote in Portuguese an interesting account of Indian religion, which was used as a manuscript by his successors…
FENIGER, Siegmund (Nyānaponika Mahāthera). Hanau 29.7.1901 — Forest Hermitage, Kandy 19.10.1994. German Bauddha and Buddhist scholar in Sri Lanka. Born in Hessen as the only child of a merchant family and had Jewish education. Lived then in Upper Silesia working in a bookshop. In 1922 the family moved to Berlin,…
FÉER, Henri Léon. Rouen 22.11.1830 — Paris 10.3.1902. French Indologist and Buddhist Scholar. Librarian in Paris. Probably son of Paul Féer (1792–1847) and Jeanne Marie Labauche (Wikitree on Isabelle Féer mentions him as her uncle, but the same on Paul Féer does not list him among their children). Educated in…
FEDERICI, Cesare de (Fedrici). Erbanno (Brescia) c. 1530 — 1600/03. Italian (Venetian) Merchant and Traveller in India. Left Venice in 1567 (Charpentier & Lach 1563, long stay in the Near East), travelled via Aleppo and Basra to Ormuz, by ship to Diu and Goa. From Goa he went by land…
FAZY, Robert. Foëcy, Cher (France) 28.6.1872 — Lausanne 2.3.1956. Swiss Judge interested in Oriental Studies. Son of William Fazy, an engineer and economist, of ancient Genevan family, and Adèle Morel-Fatio. During his childhood he lived in France, Silesia, and Bern. After studies of science and law at Geneva he worked…
FAWCETT, Frederick. 1853 — Vienna 20.7.1926. British Civil Servant and Ethnographer in India. Served in South India, from 1878 as Inspector, then Superintendent of Malabar Police. From 1905 Deputy Inspector General of Police in Madras, retired before 1911. An amateur archaeologist and anthropologist. Married Elizabeth Lydia (d. 1933). Publications: “On…
FAWCETT, Charles Gordon Hill. Southsea, Portsmouth 28.6.1869 — Exmouth, Devon 7.3.1952. Sir. British Civil Servant and Historian of Colonial India. Son of Lieutenant-Colonel Rowland Hill Fawcett (1840–1914) and Eliza Rose Wood. Educated at Harrow, from 1888 studies at Pembroke College, Cambridge. In 1890 joined the I.C.S. in Bombay. In the…