ACOSTA, Cristóvão da (Cristóbal d’Acosta, Christophorus Acosta Africanus). 1515/1525/1538? — Burgos 1592 or Huelva 1594?. Portuguese Physician, stayed in India in 1568-76. Born in Africa (but in Portuguese territory, in Tanger, Ceuta or Cape Verde). Probably studied at Salamanca and came 1550 to India as soldier. Participated in some campaigns,…
ABS, Josef Maria. Öspel, Saarland 20.1.1889 — 19??. German Catholic Priest, Indologist and Scholar of Religion. Son of Friedrich Abs and Maria Kessler. From 1897 member of the Capuchin order and attended its school in Tyrol. Then missionary in India, in 1914 appointed to a Professorship in Calcutta, but soon…
ABRAMJAN (Abramian), Ruben Tadesovič (Arm. Ruben T‘adēosi Abrahamyan). Gnišik, Turkish Armenia 9.(21.)2.1881 — 26.10.1951. Armenian Iranian and Armenian Scholar. Son of a civil servant. After gymnasium in Yerevan studied at Kiev, Leipzig and St.Petersburg, in 1911 graduated from Oriental Faculty in St. Petersburg. In 1912-21 teacher in Tiflis (Tbilisi), then…
ABERCROMBY (-bie), Robert. Tullibody, Clackmanshire 21.10.1740 — Airthrey, Stirlingsgire 3.11.1827. Sir. British (Scottish) General. Son of George Abercromby (1705–1800) and Mary Dundas. Served as officer in the French war in India and in American revolutionary war. Captain 1761, Lieutenant-Colonel 1773, Colonel 1787. From 1788 again in India. In 1790-92 Governor of…
ABEL-RÉMUSAT, Jean-Pierre. Paris 5.9.1788 — Paris 4.6.1832 (or 2.6.). French Sinologist and Buddhist Scholar. Son of a physician. As an early accident bound him for years to bed and deprived him of one eye, he is said to have sought for compensation in studies and writing and made rapid progress.…
ABEGG, Emil. Küsnacht near Zürich 11.1.1885 — Zürich 12.2.1962. Swiss Indologist. Professor in Zürich. Son of merchant Emil Abegg (1846–1894) and Fanny Guggenbühl, school and teacher’s college in Küsnacht. Learned Sanskrit first by himself, then from 1904 studied Germanistics, psychology, Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit (under Kaegi) at Zürich University. Ph.D.…
ABBOTT, Justin Edwards. Portsmouth, NH 25.12.1853 — Summit, NJ 19.6. or 16.9.1932. Rev. U.S. Presbyterian Missionary and Indologist (Marathi Scholar). B.A. Son of missionary parents, Rev. Amos Abbott (1812–1889) and Anstice Wilson, he came with them in 1857 to Rahuri (Ahmednagar dt.) and grew up in Maharashtra. Studies in the…
ABBOTT, James. Calcutta 12.3.1807 — Ellerslie, Ryde, Isle of Wight 6.10.1896. British Colonial Officer, Poet and Indologist. General. In India 1823-67. Son of merchant Henry Alexius Abbott (1764–18??) and Margaret Welsh, brother of Major-General Augustus Abbott (1804–1867, 1819-59 in India) and Major-General Sir Frederick Abbott (1805–1892, 1823-47 in India). Educated…
AALTO, Pentti. Pori 22.7.1917 — Helsinki 30.11.1998. Finnish Classical Scholar, Linguist, Altaist and Indologist. Son of shop assistant Martti Johannes Aalto and Martta Elisabeth Lindroos. Matriculation from Porin lyseo in 1935, then studies of comparative, oriental and classical philology at Helsinki University: M.A. 1939, Lic. Phil. 1949, Ph.D. 1949. During…
AA, Jean Baptiste van der. Brussels 11.6.1843 — 1900?. S.J. Flemish Jesuit Father, Missionary in Sri Lanka. Educated at Collège Saint-Michel, entered S.J. when 17. Ordained priest in 1875, taught philosophy at Louvain (Leuven). In 1895 he went to Sri Lanka and worked as teacher at the Papal Seminarium in…