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…
BURNES, Alexander. Montrose, Angus 16.5.1805 — Kabul 2.11.1841. Sir. British (Scottish) Colonial Officer (Lieutenant-Colonel) and Traveller in India, Afghanistan and Central Asia. Son of James B. (peovost and a cousin of the poet Robert Burns) and Elizabeth Glegg, brother of —> James B. After attending the famous college of his…
BROWNE, James. 1744 — 1792. British Colonial Officer in India. Major. Joined Indian army in 1765, 1772 aide-de-camp of Warren Hastings. “Collector of the Jungleterry districts, 1773; had difficult work in administering the country and settling disturbances. Sent by the Council on an embassy to Shah Alam at Delhi to…
BROUGHTON, Thomas Duer. 1778 — London 16.11.1835. British Colonial Officer in India. Son of Rev. Thomas Br. (Rector of St.Peter’s in Bristol) and Mary Br., educated at Eton. Joined the Bengal Army in 1795, lieutenant 1797. Participated in the siege of Seringapatam 1799. In 1802 military resident with the Mahrattas. In…
BOWER, Hamilton St.Clair. Portsea Island, Hampshire 1.9.1858 — North Berwick, East Lothian 5.3.1940. Sir. British (Scottish) Colonial Officer and Traveller in Central Asia. Son of Admiral James Paterson B. and Barbara Hickson (from Ireland). Educated in Edinburgh and at Royal Naval School. Served in British India from 1884. As an…
BODEN, Joseph. 17?? — Lisbon 21.11.1811. British Colonial Officer. Founder of the famous Boden chair of Sanskrit at Oxford University. Entered the Bombay Native Army in 1781, held appointments in the staff in Bombay, and was member of the Military Board. Lieutenant-colonel 1806, retired in 1807 and moved to Lisbon…
BIRDWOOD, George Christopher Molesworth. Belgaum, India 8.12.1832 — Ealing, London 28.6.1917. Sir. British Physician and Botanist in India interested in Science and in Colonial History. Son of General Christopher B. (1807–1882) of Indian Army. The family came from Plymouth, and he was educated at Plymouth Grammar School, at Dollar Academy,…
BEVERIDGE, Henry. Inzievar, Fife 9.2.1837 — London 8.11.1929. British (Scottish) Historian of Mughal and Colonial India. Son of the elder —> Henry B. Educated in Glasgow and Edinburgh, studies at Glasgow University and Queen’s College in Belfast. Joined the I.C.S. through competition in 1857, and served in Bengal until 1893,…
BEVERIDGE, Henry. Scotland 1799 — 1863. The Elder. British (Scottish) Lawyer and Historian of Colonial India. Father of —> Henry B. the younger. Originally intended ministry, but turned to law. Worked as advocate and author, from 1856 the editor of The Banner of Ulster in Belfast. He never visited India.…
BEAMES, John William. Greenwich 21.6.1837 — Clevedon, Somerset 24.5.1902. British Civil servant and Indologist in India, a Pioneer of Comparative NIA Studies. Served in India in 1858-93. Son of the Rev. Thomas B., educated first at Merchant Taylor’s School, then 1856-57 at Haileybury. In 1858 to India, served from March…