Alfred Comyn Lyall
Encyclopedia
Sir Alfred Comyn Lyall, GCIE
, KCB
(4 January 1835 – 11 April 1911) was a British civil servant, literary historian
and poet
.
in Surrey
, the second son of Alfred Lyall
and Mary Drummond Broadwood, daughter of James Shudi Broadwood
. He was educated at Eton. His elder brother was already serving with the military in India, and this may have influenced him towards a career in that direction. He attended Haileybury College with that purpose in mind. In 1862 he married Cora Cloete, daughter of Peter Cloete. He died while on a sojourn to Fairford, the home of Tennyson in Freshwater, Isle of Wight.
, He landed at Calcutta in January 1856. After four months training he was posted as an Assistant Magistrate at Bulandshahr in the Doab (forty miles from Delhi, a district in the Meerut Division of the Lieutenant-Governorship of the North-West Provinces). He was there when the Indian Mutiny broke out the following year. His house was burnt down and he was nearly killed when fleeing as his horse was shot under him. He joined the Khaki Risala of Volunteers, an irregular European cavalry unit. He helped pacify Bulandshahr. In May 1858 he was transferred to Shahjehanpur where he helped restore order. In April 1861 he returned to England for about eighteen months. On his return to India he was appointed Assistant Manager at Agra. In 1864 he was appointed District Manager of Nagpur at Hoshungabad in the Central Provinces, before being appointed Commissioner in Berar in1867. He was now earning £3,000 a year. He went on to become Home Secretary to the Government of India in 1873 and the Governor-General's agent in the state of Rajputana the following year. His next post was as Foreign Secretary to Government of India from 1878 to 1881 (during this period he helped negotiate peace and a monarchy in Afghanistan). He was then appointed Lieutenant-Governor of North West Provinces, and Chief Commissioner of Oudh (North-West Provinces) from 1882 to 1887 (he introduced a degree of local self-government to that area). He also founded the University of Allabad and became its first Chancellor. He was made an honorary fellow of King's College, Cambridge
in 1893. He was made a member of the Privy Council
in 1902, having served on the India Council from 1888 to 1902.
, and Alfred Lord Tennyson
. His literary achievements brought him advanced degrees, a D.C.L. from Oxford (1889) and an LL.D. from Cambridge (1891), an Honorary Fellow of King's College, Cambridge (1893), and membership in the British Academy (1902).
A more comprehensive list of his known publications is given below:
(1857–1943). His uncles included George Lyall (1779–1853) Chairman of the East India Company in 1830 and William Rowe Lyall
(1788–1857) Dean of Canterbury
(1845–1857). His brother James Broadwood Lyall
(1838–1916) also served in the Indian Civil Service, becoming Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab. His sister Mary Sybilla (1836–1891) was married to Francis James Holland
(1828–1907) Canon at Canterbury Cathedral.
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
, KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(4 January 1835 – 11 April 1911) was a British civil servant, literary historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Early life
He was born at CoulsdonCoulsdon
Coulsdon is a town on the southernmost boundary of the London Borough of Croydon. It is surrounded by the Metropolitan Green Belt of the Farthing Down, Coulsdon Common and Kenley Common...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, the second son of Alfred Lyall
Alfred Lyall (traveller)
Alfred Lyall was an English philosopher, editor, clergyman and traveller.- Early life :Alfred Lyall was the youngest son of John Lyall , of Findon, Sussex, and Jane Comyn . His eldest brother George Lyall, sometime member of parliament for the City of London, became Chairman of the East India...
and Mary Drummond Broadwood, daughter of James Shudi Broadwood
James Shudi Broadwood
James Shudi Broadwood was a piano maker in Middlesex and a magistrate in Surrey.-Piano making:He was born in London and died in Lyne Drive, Surrey. He was the second child and eldest son of John Broadwood and his first wife Barbara Shudi. James originally worked as a clerk for his father from 1785...
. He was educated at Eton. His elder brother was already serving with the military in India, and this may have influenced him towards a career in that direction. He attended Haileybury College with that purpose in mind. In 1862 he married Cora Cloete, daughter of Peter Cloete. He died while on a sojourn to Fairford, the home of Tennyson in Freshwater, Isle of Wight.
Indian career
After Eton and Haileybury, he joined the Indian Civil Service in 1856, and served a long career in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, He landed at Calcutta in January 1856. After four months training he was posted as an Assistant Magistrate at Bulandshahr in the Doab (forty miles from Delhi, a district in the Meerut Division of the Lieutenant-Governorship of the North-West Provinces). He was there when the Indian Mutiny broke out the following year. His house was burnt down and he was nearly killed when fleeing as his horse was shot under him. He joined the Khaki Risala of Volunteers, an irregular European cavalry unit. He helped pacify Bulandshahr. In May 1858 he was transferred to Shahjehanpur where he helped restore order. In April 1861 he returned to England for about eighteen months. On his return to India he was appointed Assistant Manager at Agra. In 1864 he was appointed District Manager of Nagpur at Hoshungabad in the Central Provinces, before being appointed Commissioner in Berar in1867. He was now earning £3,000 a year. He went on to become Home Secretary to the Government of India in 1873 and the Governor-General's agent in the state of Rajputana the following year. His next post was as Foreign Secretary to Government of India from 1878 to 1881 (during this period he helped negotiate peace and a monarchy in Afghanistan). He was then appointed Lieutenant-Governor of North West Provinces, and Chief Commissioner of Oudh (North-West Provinces) from 1882 to 1887 (he introduced a degree of local self-government to that area). He also founded the University of Allabad and became its first Chancellor. He was made an honorary fellow of King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
in 1893. He was made a member of the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
in 1902, having served on the India Council from 1888 to 1902.
Awards
He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) in 1887, Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1881 and Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) in 1896.Literary
His Verses Written in India was published in 1889. He wrote a number of other books on poetry. He wrote also books on Indian history, Warren HastingsWarren Hastings
Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
, and Alfred Lord Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language....
. His literary achievements brought him advanced degrees, a D.C.L. from Oxford (1889) and an LL.D. from Cambridge (1891), an Honorary Fellow of King's College, Cambridge (1893), and membership in the British Academy (1902).
A more comprehensive list of his known publications is given below:
- Asiatic Studies, Religious and Social: First Series. (John Murray. London, 1882)
- The Rise and Expansion of the British Dominion in India. (John Murray. London, 1893)
- Warren Hastings (English Men of Action Series). (Macmillan & Co. London, 1889)
- Verses Written in India. (Kegan Paul, Trench. London, 1889)
- Asiatic Studies: Religious and Social in India, China & Asia: Second Series. (John Murray. London, 1899)
- Tennyson (English Men of Letters series). (Macmillan & Co. London, 1902)
- The Life of the Marquis of Dufferin and Ava, 2 vols. (John Murray. London, 1905)
- Etudes sur les moeurs religieuses et socials de l'Extrême-Orient. (French translation of Asiatic Studies, First & Second Series: Fontemoing, Paris. 1907–1908)
- Studies in Literature and History. (published posthumously by John Murray. London, 1915)
Family
He married Cornelia Arnoldina Cloete (c. 1836 – 1913) at Stoke-by-Clare, Suffolk on November 12, 1862. They had four children (two sons and two daughters). Their second daughter Mary Evelina (1868–1948) married the Indian civil servant John Ontario MillerJohn Ontario Miller
Sir John Ontario Miller, KCSI was a British civil servant in India. He was born in Toronto, Canada, the eldest son of Robert Schaw Miller and Eliza Miller...
(1857–1943). His uncles included George Lyall (1779–1853) Chairman of the East India Company in 1830 and William Rowe Lyall
William Rowe Lyall
William Rowe Lyall was an English churchman, Dean of Canterbury from 1845 to 1857.-Life:He was born in Stepney, Middlesex, the fifth son of John Lyall and Jane Comyns. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge . In 1817 he married Catherine Brandreth , daughter of Dr. Brandreth of Liverpool...
(1788–1857) Dean of Canterbury
Dean of Canterbury
The Dean of Canterbury is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury, England. The office of dean originated after the English Reformation, and its precursor office was the prior of the cathedral-monastery...
(1845–1857). His brother James Broadwood Lyall
James Broadwood Lyall
Sir James Broadwood Lyall KCSI, GCIE. was an administrator in the Indian Civil Service of the British Raj period. Between 1887 and 1892 he was Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab. He was a younger brother of Sir Alfred Comyn Lyall....
(1838–1916) also served in the Indian Civil Service, becoming Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab. His sister Mary Sybilla (1836–1891) was married to Francis James Holland
Francis James Holland
Francis James Holland, was a Canon in the Church of England.He was born in St. George, Middlesex, a son of Sir Henry Holland and Margaret Emma Caldwell. He went to Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge in 1846, graduating BA in 1850 and MA in 1853...
(1828–1907) Canon at Canterbury Cathedral.