- John Malcolm
"For the
American Revolution figure, seeJohn Malcolm (Loyalist) ."Sir John Malcolm (
May 2 , 1769 ‑ 1833) was a Scottish soldier,statesman , andhistorian , born at Burnfoot,Dumfriesshire on the 2nd of May, 1769.In 1782 Sir John Malcolm entered the service of the East India Company; and a part of his success is to be ascribed to the zeal with which he applied himself at first to study the manners and languages of the east. Having distinguished himself at the siege of
Seringapatam in 1792, he was appointed byLord Cornwallis to the situation of Persian interpreter to a British force serving with a native prince. In 1795, on his return from a short visit to his native country, on account of his health, he performed some useful services in General Clarke’s expedition at theCape of Good Hope , for which he received the thanks of theMadras government, and was appointed secretary to the commander-in-chief.He was employed in many important negotiations and held various distinguished posts, being
Ambassador to Persia,Resident of Gwalior (1803-1804) andGovernor of Bombay 1827-1830. He was the commander of the British Army which defeated the Holkars who ruledIndore at theBattle of Mahidpur in 1818. After defeating the Holkars he signed the Treaty of Mandsaur with them. It was under this treaty that the British were given the cantonment town ofMhow which is 23 km from Indore. He was the author of several valuable works regarded as authorities, viz., "Sketch of the Sikh" (1812) "A History of Persia" (1815), "Memoir of Central India" (1823), "Political History of India from 1784 to 1823" (1826), and "Life of Lord Clive" (1836).An impressive
obelisk commemorating Malcolm's life and achievements stands atop the 300 m Whita Hill on the outskirts ofLangholm .An over life-size statue of Sir John Malcolm is in
Westminster Abbey 's North Transept.He added his name to one of the monuments at Persepolis::"JOHN MALCOLM 1810"
Sir John Malcolm became very famous within the Hindu Swaminarayan sect.
Lord Swaminarayan presented Malcolm with a holy book, called the "Shikshapatri," which is housed at theBodleian Library in Oxford. [ [http://www.shikshapatri.org.uk Sri Swaminarayan, "Digital Shikshapatri," Bodleian Library, Oxford University] ]References
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* [http://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/malcolm_john.htm Significant Scots]
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