Asiatic Society
Encyclopedia
The Asiatic Society was founded by Sir William Jones
(1746–1794) on January 15, 1784 in a meeting presided over by Sir Robert Chambers
, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at the Fort William in Calcutta, then capital of the British Raj
, to enhance and further the cause of Oriental research. At the time of its foundation, this Society was named as "Asiatick Society". In 1825, the antique k was dropped without any formal resolution and the Society was renamed as "The Asiatic Society". In 1832 the name was changed to "The Asiatic Society of Bengal" and again in 1936 it was renamed as "The Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal." Finally, on July 1, 1951 the name of the society was changed to its present one. The Society is housed in a building at Park Street in Kolkata (Calcutta). The Society moved into this building during 1808. In 1823, the Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta
was formed and all the meetings of this society were held in the Asiatic Society.
In January, 1784 Sir William Jones
sent out a circular-letter to a selected number of British residents of Calcutta with a view to establish a society for the Asiatic studies. At his inivitation, thirty British residents met in the Grand Jury Room of the Supreme Court (in the Fort william) on January 15, 1784. The meeting was presided over by Sir Robert Chambers. At this meeting, Jones explained the aims of the Society, he would establish. The Memorandum of Articles of the Asiatick Society, prepared by Jones said:
Notable early members were Charles Wilkins
and Alexander Hamilton
(the cousin of the American statesman). Initially, the Grand Jury Room of the Supreme Court was used for the meetings of the members, who had to pay a quarterly fee of two mohur
s. The members were elected through ballot-voting. On September 29, 1796 the Society decided to have its own building. J.H. Harrington, then Vice-President selected the corner of Park Street and Chowringhee Road (present location) for the Society's house. The site was granted to the society on May 15, 1805. The original plan for the new building was prepared by Captain Thomas Preston. The French architect, Jean Jacques Pichon (or Jean Jacques Pissaun) made certain modifications to it and constructed a two storeyed building at the site. This 15,071 ft² building was built at a cost of Rs.30,000.00. The first quarterly meeting of the Society for 1808 was held at its new building on February 3, 1808.
From 1784 to 1828, only Europeans were elected members of the Society. In 1829, at the initiative of H.H. Wilson, a number of Indians were elected members, which include Dwarakanath Tagore, Sivchandra Das, Maharaja Baidyanath Roy, Maharaja Bunwari Govind Roy, Raja Kalikrishna Bahadur, Rajchunder Das, Ram Comul Sen and Prasanna Coomar Tagore
. On December 12, 1832 Ram Comul Sen was elected 'Native Secretary'. Later, Rajendralal Mitra
became the first Indian President in 1885.
, a manuscript of the Gulistan
text, and a manuscript of Padshah Nama
bearing the signature of Emperor Shahjahan. The number of journals in thepossession of the library is about 80,000 at present.
The early collection of this library was enriched by the contributions it received from its members. On March 25, 1784 the library received seven Persian manuscripts from Henri Richardson. The next contribution came from William Marsden, who donated his book, History of Island of Sumatra (1783) on November 10, 1784. Robert Home, the first Library-in-Charge (1804) donated his small but valuable collection of works on art. The first accession of importance was a gift from the Seringapatam Committee on February 3, 1808 consisting of a collection from the Palace Library of Tipu Sultan
. The library received the Surveyor-General Colonel Mackenzie's collection of manuscripts and drawings in December 1822.
of Calcutta was established in 1814, the Society handed over most of its valuable collections to it. The Society however still has a museum of its own which possesses a rock edict of Asoka (c. 250 BCE) and a significant collection of copper plate inscriptions, coins, sculptures, manuscripts and archival records. Some masterpieces, like Joshua Reynolds
’ Cupid asleep on Cloud , Guido Cagnacci
's Cleopatra, Thomas Daniell
's A Ghat at Benares and Peter Paul Rubens’ Infant Christ are also in the possession of this museum.
William Jones (philologist)
Sir William Jones was an English philologist and scholar of ancient India, particularly known for his proposition of the existence of a relationship among Indo-European languages...
(1746–1794) on January 15, 1784 in a meeting presided over by Sir Robert Chambers
Robert Chambers (judge)
Sir Robert Chambers , was a jurist, Vinerian Professor of English Law, and Chief Justice of Bengal.-Biography:...
, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at the Fort William in Calcutta, then capital of the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, to enhance and further the cause of Oriental research. At the time of its foundation, this Society was named as "Asiatick Society". In 1825, the antique k was dropped without any formal resolution and the Society was renamed as "The Asiatic Society". In 1832 the name was changed to "The Asiatic Society of Bengal" and again in 1936 it was renamed as "The Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal." Finally, on July 1, 1951 the name of the society was changed to its present one. The Society is housed in a building at Park Street in Kolkata (Calcutta). The Society moved into this building during 1808. In 1823, the Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta
Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta
The Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta was a society of British officials, mostly physicians, formed on March 1, 1823. The society published a quarterly journal and met at the Asiatic Society. The journal published articles on diseases prevailing in India and their links with environment and...
was formed and all the meetings of this society were held in the Asiatic Society.
History
William Jones (philologist)
Sir William Jones was an English philologist and scholar of ancient India, particularly known for his proposition of the existence of a relationship among Indo-European languages...
sent out a circular-letter to a selected number of British residents of Calcutta with a view to establish a society for the Asiatic studies. At his inivitation, thirty British residents met in the Grand Jury Room of the Supreme Court (in the Fort william) on January 15, 1784. The meeting was presided over by Sir Robert Chambers. At this meeting, Jones explained the aims of the Society, he would establish. The Memorandum of Articles of the Asiatick Society, prepared by Jones said:
The bounds of investigations will be the geographical limits of Asia, and within these limits its enquiries will be extended to whatever is performed by man or produced by nature.
Notable early members were Charles Wilkins
Charles Wilkins
Sir Charles Wilkins, KH, FRS , was an English typographer and Orientalist, notable as the first translator of Bhagavad Gita into English, and as the creator of the first Devanagari typeface....
and Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (linguist)
Alexander Hamilton was a British linguist who was one of the first Europeans to study the Sanskrit language. He taught the language to most of the earliest European scholars of Indo-European linguistics....
(the cousin of the American statesman). Initially, the Grand Jury Room of the Supreme Court was used for the meetings of the members, who had to pay a quarterly fee of two mohur
Mohur
A Mohur is a gold coin that was formerly minted by several governments including British India , the Moghul Empire, Nepal, and Afghanistan. It was usually equivalent in value to fifteen silver rupees. It was last minted in British India in 1918, but some princely states issued them until...
s. The members were elected through ballot-voting. On September 29, 1796 the Society decided to have its own building. J.H. Harrington, then Vice-President selected the corner of Park Street and Chowringhee Road (present location) for the Society's house. The site was granted to the society on May 15, 1805. The original plan for the new building was prepared by Captain Thomas Preston. The French architect, Jean Jacques Pichon (or Jean Jacques Pissaun) made certain modifications to it and constructed a two storeyed building at the site. This 15,071 ft² building was built at a cost of Rs.30,000.00. The first quarterly meeting of the Society for 1808 was held at its new building on February 3, 1808.
From 1784 to 1828, only Europeans were elected members of the Society. In 1829, at the initiative of H.H. Wilson, a number of Indians were elected members, which include Dwarakanath Tagore, Sivchandra Das, Maharaja Baidyanath Roy, Maharaja Bunwari Govind Roy, Raja Kalikrishna Bahadur, Rajchunder Das, Ram Comul Sen and Prasanna Coomar Tagore
Prasanna Coomar Tagore
See Tagore for disambiguationPrasanna Coomar Tagore was son of Gopi Mohan Tagore, one of the founders of Hindu College. He belonged to the Pathuriaghata branch of the Tagore family and was one of the leaders of the conservative branch of Hindu society...
. On December 12, 1832 Ram Comul Sen was elected 'Native Secretary'. Later, Rajendralal Mitra
Rajendralal Mitra
Rajendralal Mitra was the first modern Indologist of Indian origin, and was a key figure in the Bengal Renaissance. He was pioneer in scientific study of history and contributed substantially in the field of archaeology. Eminent Historian Professor R.S...
became the first Indian President in 1885.
Library
At present, the library of the Asiatic Society has a collection of about 1,17,000 books and 79,000 journals printed in almost all the major languages of the world. It has also a collection of 293 maps, microfische of 48,000 works, microfilm of 387,003 pages, 182 paintings, 2500 pamphlets and 2150 photographs. The earliest printed book preserved in this library is Juli Firmici's Astronomicorum Libri published in 1499. It has in its possession a large number of books printed in India in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The library also possesses many rare and scarcely available books. The library has a rich collection of about 47,000 manuscripts in 26 scripts. The most notable amongst them are an illustrated manuscript of the Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, a manuscript of the Gulistan
Gulistan of Sa'di
The Gulistan is a landmark literary work in Persian literature, perhaps its single most influential work of prose. Written in 1259 CE, it is one of two major works of the Persian poet Sa'di, considered one of the greatest medieval Persian poets. It is also one of his most popular books, and...
text, and a manuscript of Padshah Nama
Padshah Nama
The Padshahnama is a genre of works written as the official visual history of Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan’s reign. Most significant work of this genre was written by Abdul Hamid Lahori in two volumes.-History:...
bearing the signature of Emperor Shahjahan. The number of journals in thepossession of the library is about 80,000 at present.
The early collection of this library was enriched by the contributions it received from its members. On March 25, 1784 the library received seven Persian manuscripts from Henri Richardson. The next contribution came from William Marsden, who donated his book, History of Island of Sumatra (1783) on November 10, 1784. Robert Home, the first Library-in-Charge (1804) donated his small but valuable collection of works on art. The first accession of importance was a gift from the Seringapatam Committee on February 3, 1808 consisting of a collection from the Palace Library of Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
. The library received the Surveyor-General Colonel Mackenzie's collection of manuscripts and drawings in December 1822.
Museum
The museum of the Society was founded in 1814 under the superintendence of N. Wallich. The rapid growth of its collection is evident from its first catalogue, published in 1849. When the Indian MuseumIndian Museum
The Indian Museum is the largest museum in India and has rare collections of antiques, armour and ornaments, fossils, skeletons, mummies, and Mughal paintings...
of Calcutta was established in 1814, the Society handed over most of its valuable collections to it. The Society however still has a museum of its own which possesses a rock edict of Asoka (c. 250 BCE) and a significant collection of copper plate inscriptions, coins, sculptures, manuscripts and archival records. Some masterpieces, like Joshua Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
’ Cupid asleep on Cloud , Guido Cagnacci
Guido Cagnacci
Guido Cagnacci was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque period, belonging to the Forlì painting school and to the Bolognese School....
's Cleopatra, Thomas Daniell
Thomas Daniell
Thomas Daniell was an English landscape painter.-Life:Thomas Daniell was born in 1749 at the Chertsey inn, kept by his father, and was apprenticed to an heraldic painter. Daniell, however, was animated with a love of the romantic and beautiful in architecture and nature. Up to 1784, he painted...
's A Ghat at Benares and Peter Paul Rubens’ Infant Christ are also in the possession of this museum.