Calcutta Historical Society

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Calcutta Historical Society
Formation27 April 1907;118 years ago (27 April 1907)
Type Nonprofit
Location
Publication
Bengal, Past & Present

The Calcutta Historical Society is an Indian nonprofit learned society. Founded in 1907, it is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the cultural heritage of Calcutta (now Kolkata). The society has contributed to the study and understanding of Indian history, particularly the history of Kolkata, through its publication Bengal, Past & Present. It is the oldest historical association in South Asia. The society is based in Calcutta, West Bengal, India.

Contents

History

The Honorable Sir Francis Maclean, first president of the society Francis Maclean.jpg
The Honorable Sir Francis Maclean, first president of the society

The Calcutta Historical Society is a learned society founded on 27 April 1907 at the Calcutta Town Hall in Calcutta (now Kolkata). [1] [2] Its founders included almost eighty of the leading Englishmen of the city. [1] [2] The society was "formed to preserve ancient and historical Institutions in Calcutta and its environs". [2] Its founders focused on preserving historical monuments and buildings, and the ancient institutions of the city. [1] The society's first president was Sir Francis Maclean, the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court. [1] [2]

In 1910, society members began a successful search for the grave of Walter Landor Dickens, son of the author Charles Dickens. [3] Dickens's son died in India while serving with the 42nd Highlanders. [3] On June 18, 1911, the Calcutta Historical Society installed a bust of William Makepeace Thackeray, at St. John's Church in Calcutta, where the author was baptized. [4] [5] The society commissioned the bust from London sculptor Leonard Jennings for the centennial of Thackeray's birth in Calcutta. [4] The Royal Academy in London received a replica of the bust. [4] The society held a dinner to celebrate the 218th anniversary of the founding of Calcutta on August 25, 1911. [6]

The society's activities ceased by the end of 1911 as its leading members were transferred out of India. [7] The society discussed a merger with the Asiatic Society of Bengal, but decided to close its offices in May 1912. [7] In May 1913, Wilmot Corfield, the society's former treasurer, made a presentation to the East India Association in Westminster, England where he proposed forming the Calcutta Historical Society in London, along with establishing of an Indian Hall and Museum in England to serve as an imperial monument to India. [8] [9] [10] [11] However, the society reformed in Calcutta at the rooms of the Asiatic Society on February 4, 1914, under the leadership of president Lawrence Hugh Jenkins. [7] [12]

The Calcutta Historic Society is a nonprofit organization and is the oldest historical association in South Asia. [1] [13] The society is based in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. [13]

Publications

The society established a magazine at its first meeting and began publishing the journal, Bengal, Past & Present, in July 1907. [13] [2] [14] Historian and researcher Walter K. Firminger, was the first editor of Bengal, Past & Present. [1] Firminger defined the journal's early vision and direction of preserving "the British memory of Calcutta as the seat of the British Empire in India." [1] Thus, its articles focused on the institutions and buildings from the era of colonialism. [1] As history emerged as a profession and a discipline in the region's universities, the journal changed into a scholarly journal about Asian history and modern India, edited by professional historians such as Pratul Chandra Gupta and Narendra Krishna Sinha. [1] Peter Gran, professor of history at Temple University, notes that Bengal, Past & Present was a "high-quality" journal that contributed to Calcutta's importance in professional history. [15] The journal was published through 2012. [14]

In 1925, the society republished The Original Letters from India1779-1815 by Eliza Fay. [16]

Notable members

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Chakrabarti, Bhaskar (17 June 2021). "Bengal Past and Present". Banglapedia. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Calcutta Historical Society: Abbreviated Minutes of the Inaugural Meeting". Bengal, Past & Present: Journal of the Calcutta Historical Society. 1 (1): 1–8. July 1907. hdl:2027/nyp.33433069685240 – via Hathi Trust.
  3. 1 2 "The Grave of Dicken's Son". Daily Echo. Bournemouth, Dorset, England. 9 January 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 21 June 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 "A Thackeray Bust". The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 16 June 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 21 June 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Thackeray's Birthplace". The Times. London, England. 23 November 1910. p. 13. Retrieved 21 June 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "The Governor of Bengal. "Weary of Criticism"". The Guardian. London, England. 26 August 1908. p. 5. Retrieved 21 June 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 3 Thomas David, Baron Carmichael of Skirling (February 1914). "Annual Address, 1914". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 10: xxvi – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ "A Suggested Imperial Monument to India". The Birmingham Post. Birmingham, West Midlands, England. 23 May 1913. p. 6. Retrieved 21 June 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 "A Monument to India". Evening Despatch. Birmingham, West Midlands, England. 24 May 1913. p. 1. Retrieved 21 June 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Calcutta Society Urged in London". East Oregonian. Pendleton, Oregon. 24 June 1913. p. 5. Retrieved 21 June 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "A New Indian Museum: Proposal for an Historical Society and Collection". The Collegian (2): 246. July 1913 – via Google Books.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Calcutta Historical Society - The Revival". The Collegian (1): 136–137. March 1914 – via Google Books.
  13. 1 2 3 "Calcutta Historical Society". South Asia Commons. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  14. 1 2 "Bengal: Past & Present". Ideas of India. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  15. ↑ Gran, Peter (1 February 2021). Beyond Eurocentrism: A New View of Modern World History. Syracuse University Press. p. 153. ISBN   978-0-8156-5544-2.
  16. ↑ "Letter From India". The Herald (Glasgow ed.). 1 June 1925. p. 7. Retrieved 21 June 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "India, a Seething Turmoil Keeps Watch on Near East Crisis". Times Herald. London, England. 30 October 1922. p. 24. Retrieved 21 June 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Who's-who--India ... Calcutta: Tyson & Company. 1927. pp. 56–57 – via Google Books.
  19. ↑ Lorenz, A. J. (30 October 1922). "India, a Seething Turmoil Keeps Watch on Near East Crisis". Times Herald. Washington, D.C. p. 24. Retrieved 21 June 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ Isha, Shamir (2000). "The House of the Nawabat 85 Park Street and the Sociocultural Contributions of Sir Wasif Ali Mirza" (PDF). Journal of Bengal Art. 25: 317.
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