This article is about the society in Calcutta. For other uses, see Asiatic Society.

The new Asiatic Society building

The old Asiatic Society building

The Asiatic Society was founded by Sir William Jones (1746-1794) on 15 January 1784 in Calcutta, then capital of British India, to enhance and further the cause of Oriental research. Sir William Jones ( September 28, 1746 &ndash April 27, 1794) was an English philologist and student of ancient India Year 1746 ( MDCCXLVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1794 ( MDCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign Year 1784 ( MDCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The Orient is a term which simply means the " East " It originated in Western Asia to describe that part of the world At the time of its foundation, this Society was named as "Asiatic Society". In 1825 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, in 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.

Library

The library of the Asiatic Society has a collection of about 1,49,000 books printed in almost all the major languages of the world. The earliest printed books in this library belong to the late 15th century. 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 Quran, a manuscript of the Gulistan text, and a manuscript of Padshanamah bearing the signature of Emperor Shahjahan. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran Gulistan ("The Rose Garden" is a landmark literary work in Persian literature. Shihab-ud-din Muhammad Shah Jahan I (full title Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram Abu'l-Muzaffar Shihab ud-din Muhammad Sahib-i-Qiran-i-Sani Shah Jahan I Padshah Ghazi The number of journals in the possession 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. In March 25, 1784 the library received seven Persian manuscripts from Henri Richardson. Events 1199 - Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France which leads to his death on April 6. Year 1784 ( MDCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The next contribution came from William Marsden, who donated his book, History of Island of Sumatra (1783) on November 10, 1784. William Marsden ( 16 November 1754 - 6 October 1836) was an English Orientalist. Events 1444 - Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Vladislaus III of Varna (aka Ulaszlo I of Hungary and Wladyslaw Year 1784 ( MDCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year 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. Events 1112 - Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona and Douce I of Provence marry uniting the fortunes of those two states Year 1808 ( MDCCCVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year 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 Museum of Calcutta was established in 1814, the Society handed over most of its valuable collections to it. The Indian Museum was founded by Dr Nathaniel Wallich a Danish botanist at Serampore (originally called Frederischnagore) near Kolkata The Society however still has a museum of its own which possesses a rock edict of Asoka (c. Ashoka ( Devanāgarī: अशोकः IAST: Aśokaḥ, aɕoːkə(hə Prakrit Imperial title Devanampriya Priyadarsi 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. Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA (16 July 1723 &ndash 23 February 1792 was the most important and influential of 18th century English painters Guido Cagnacci ( January 19 1601 &ndash 1663 was an Italian painter of the late- Baroque period belonging to the Forlì painting school Thomas Daniell ( 1749 - March 19, 1840) was an English landscape painter.

See also

• South Asian Studies

External links

• "Asiatic Society", Banglapedia. On Line.
• "Asiatic Society of Bengal", Scholarly Societies Project.
• The Asiatic Society official website