David Wilson (Calcutta)
Encyclopedia
David Wilson was born in Brilley
, Herefordshire
in 1808. He worked as a confectioner in Calcutta and on 18 Nov 1840 he opened the Auckland Hotel at 1-3 Old Court House Road in Calcutta. The hotel was also known as Wilson's Hotel and changed its name to the Great Eastern Hotel. It became the most famous hotel in India
and is still functioning today as the Grand Great Eastern Kolkata and is part of the Bharat Hotels Group.
David married Mary Mandy (née Rose) in Calcutta in 1838. One of their grandchildren was Lieut Boyd Alexander
the famous African explorer. David's sister Anne was in Calcutta and married one of David's friends, also a confectioner, Frederick William Browne in 1840 also in Calcutta. Frederick died on 5 October 1864 on board the steamer Persia when it was lost at Sandheads in the great cyclone
of 1864.
David moved back to England in the 1860s but continued to manage the hotel. Over the ensuing years the hotel moved from strength to strength. In 1863 it became the first hotel in India to be fully electrified. Over the years famous guests have included Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain
), Nikita Khruskhev and Queen Elizabeth II.
When David died in 1880 his net worth was over 60000 pounds.
Brilley
Brilley is a small village in Herefordshire, England, close to the border with Wales. It lies about north-east of the Welsh border town of Hay-on-Wye...
, Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
in 1808. He worked as a confectioner in Calcutta and on 18 Nov 1840 he opened the Auckland Hotel at 1-3 Old Court House Road in Calcutta. The hotel was also known as Wilson's Hotel and changed its name to the Great Eastern Hotel. It became the most famous hotel in India
India
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...
and is still functioning today as the Grand Great Eastern Kolkata and is part of the Bharat Hotels Group.
David married Mary Mandy (née Rose) in Calcutta in 1838. One of their grandchildren was Lieut Boyd Alexander
Boyd Alexander
Boyd Alexander was an English British Army officer, explorer and ornithologist.Lieutenant Boyd Francis Alexander was the oldest son of Lt Colonel Boyd Francis Alexander...
the famous African explorer. David's sister Anne was in Calcutta and married one of David's friends, also a confectioner, Frederick William Browne in 1840 also in Calcutta. Frederick died on 5 October 1864 on board the steamer Persia when it was lost at Sandheads in the great cyclone
Cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
of 1864.
David moved back to England in the 1860s but continued to manage the hotel. Over the ensuing years the hotel moved from strength to strength. In 1863 it became the first hotel in India to be fully electrified. Over the years famous guests have included Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
), Nikita Khruskhev and Queen Elizabeth II.
When David died in 1880 his net worth was over 60000 pounds.
External links
- http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2217/stories/20050826001608400.htm
- http://www.thegrandhotels.net/NewGrandGroup.aspx