Oldest Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta

Calcutta Medical College in the old times

Calcutta Medical College in the mid-ninteenth century

Logo of Calcutta Medical College
Moto: Cum Humanitate Scientia

Calcutta Medical College (now called Medical College, Kolkata) - Founded 1835

History:

The first attempt for the introduction of a proper medical training was undertaken by Lord William Bentinck. As a fruit of his effort and long persuasion, government order was passed to set up a medical college in Calcutta which is known as Calcutta Medical College. As the resolution was passed on 28th January,1835, this day is observed as the Foundation Day of the College. What we see at the premises of Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, did not exist during the early period of its inception. An old house at the rear of the Hindu College was converted for use as the New Medical College. 

This was used till the premises of the Petty Court Jail, the site of which included a part of the present building housing the Physiology and other departments and a part of the field to the north of Administrative Block, was ready for use. The first batch of the students numbered 50 and they received stipend from Rs.7 to 12 per month. The successful students after passing the final examination received certificates of qualification to practice Medicine and Surgery, and would receive pay as Native Doctors starting with Rs.30 per month, for being employed under government. With this, the books and apparatus of the abolished Native Institution was made over.

A group of illustrious band of teachers started conducting classes. The Head of the Institution was designated as Superintendent and then as Principal. Till today, this practice is being followed. There came a professor in Medicine and Anatomy and another professor in Chemistry and MaterialMedica. Two skeletons were purchased through M/S Bathgate & Company at a cost of Rs.1500. The anatomical preparations were imported from England. MJ Bramley was the first principal of the college and HH Goodeve was the first Surgeon professor. 

It was Surgeon Goodeve who tried to convince the superstitious citizen of the need of dissection for cause of treatment. It was on 10th January,1836,Pandit Madhusudhan Gupata, Babus Uma Charan Sett, Dwarakanath Gupta, Raj Kristo Dey and Nabin Chunder Mitter secretly followed Dr. Goodevetoan outhouse of the college building and with the hands of Madhusudhan Gupta started dissection of a dead human body. This great day was recorded in the Annals of Western medicine in India when Indians rose superior to all prejudice and superstition and boldly flung open the gates of modern scientific medicine to their fellow countrymen.

Landmark:

Landmarks for the first 100 years (1835-1935)

1838 - Hindustani class started for subordinate doctors. Female (lying in) hospital started functioning with the benevolence of MuttyLal Seal. 

1839 - 11 students completed the first batch of completing 3.5 year course. Uma Charan Sett stood first and received gold watch from HE Lord Auckland. 

1839 - Institution had a spacious theatre for 500 persons, apartments for practical anatomy, a laboratory, museum, library and hospital. 

1840 - A 100 bed female hospital was formed. 

1845 - The Medical College was duly registered in England. First batch of 4 students under the patronage of Prince DwarakaNath Tagore left for England to pursue their study. 

1846 - Examination Council was shifted from government to Professors of the departments. 

1850 - Professorship of medical jurisprudence was separated from that of MaterialMedica. 

1852 - The oldest hospital of east was opened to accommodate 350 patients. 

1856 - A Chair of Comparative Anatomy was established. 

1857 - The college got affiliation of Calcutta University. 

1860 - The classes were segregated as a. Class I Primary for LMS, MB and MD examinations, b. Class II Apprentice, c. Class III Hindostanee and d. Class IV Bengalee. 

1864 - A professorship of Hygiene was established. 

1868 - Mildwifery class started. 

1871 - Pathology was separated from Medicine. 

1873 - 823 students were shifted to newly instituted Campbell Medical School. 

1874 - Minimum qualification for admission to medical college was raised to First Arts Examination. 

1876 - First lady student Kadambini Ganguly was admitted to the college.

1881 - Eden Hospital was opened. 

1884 - With the aid of Maharani Swarnamoyee a hostel for Indian girls was constructed. 

1885 - Antiseptic surgery was established. 

1886 - Children ward was thrown open. 

1887 - Ezra Hospital was opened. 

1888 - A Steam Laundry was erected. 

1889 - Bidhumukhi Bose and Virginia Mary Mitter became first lady graduates from the college. 

1891 - Shama Churn Law Eye infirmary started functioning with 57 beds. 

1894 - Isolation block for Eden Hospital was completed. 

1897 - An earthquake on June 12 caused considerable damage to the hospital. 

1898 - Chemistry Block was constructed. First Medical Outdoor services started in the hospital. 

1902 - 2 modern operation theaters were commissioned. 

1906 - LMS got abolished. 

1907 - Physics was declared an independent subject in the course. A Chair of Professor in the subject was sanctioned. 

1910 - Prince of Wales Hospital with 88 beds was founded.

 
1911 - Dewan Bahadur Hiralal basu was the first Indian to chair the Anatomy department. 

1914 - Half yearly M.B.examination were introduced. 

1916 - Female certificate Class - a separate class for female student was abolished. The preliminary qualification for admission was raised to I.A. or I.Sc. 

1921 - A separate chair of Pharmacology was created and Lt.Col.RN Chopra was appointed for the chair. Second professor of Midwifery was created. 

1925 - Student's Club was formed. First College Magazine published. 

1928 - Lt.Col.AD Stewart became a whole time Principal of College and Superintendent of the hospital. Mr. SN Chakraborti was appointed as first whole time secretary. 

1930 - 6 Indian probationer nurses were inducted in the hospital. 

1933 - A medical Council was constituted to grant recognition of Medical Degrees. Sir Hussain Suhawardy, an ex-student of the college was nominated as the President of the council. De.Kedarnath Das became the Inspector of Examinations in the council 


1934 - Dr. LM Banerjee was the first Indian to become Indian Professor in Surgery. Miss Ganga Agarwal was appointed first Lady House Physician to Indoor Medical Wards.

 

1935 - The centenary was celebrated with grandeur.

Glory:

The College has the glory of being called first in the history for:

First Medical College in Asia. 

First Hospital (both indoor and outdoor) in India

First Indian Lady Physician passed out from this college.

Heritage College and Hospital Buildings those are in existence during last two centuries.

First in trying with wireless communication within the premises. Miss Bidhumukhi Bose - Eminent student of initial batch.

General view of Medical College Hospital in the year 1878 located on College street , Calcutta.
This Corinthian building was completed in 1852.

Foundation of the Calcutta Medical College
(Scanned image of the photograph of a 19th century work, reprinted in Kolkata Shahaher Itibritta by Benoy Ghosh)

Madhusudan Gupta, the first student of the college who performed the first human dissection in modern India and modern Asia.

H.H.Goodeve - first Surgeon Professor of the college.

Oldest known University in Calcutta

University of Calcutta - Founded - 1857

Foundation:

The Court of Directors of the East India Company sent a despatch in July, 1854 to the Governor-General of India in Council, suggesting the establishment of the Universities of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. 



In pursuance of that despatch, the University of Calcutta was founded on JANUARY 24, 1857.



The University adopted in the first instance, the pattern of the University of London and gradually introduced modifications in its constitution.

Some Defining Events in the Biography of the University:

The idea of establishing a university in Calcutta was first mooted by the Council of Education in 1845 which suggested that in view of the ‘advanced state of education’ in Bengal, it was advisable to have a full-fledged university empowered to grant degrees to deserving students. Accordingly it drew up an elaborate scheme modelled on the University of London. Nothing came out of it, at least at that moment. 



In 1853, C.H. Camerson, the President of the Council of Education submitted a petition to the House of Lords. Herein he revived the idea of a university.



A similar petition signed by Raja Radhakanta Deb and others on behalf of the members of the British India Association and others was also submitted in 1853.



The Education Despatch of 19 July, 1854, popularly known as Wood’s Despatch, had really cleared the path for setting up of universities. Wood, as the President of the Board of Control of the East India Company, was indeed interested in education, but he had a certain purpose. As he wrote to Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General in India, although he accepted the idea of founding universities in India, he wanted these “to be mainly supported by those who are anxious for it”. He added that “if they choose to educate themselves, well and good, but I am against providing our own future detractors, opponents and grumblers”.



It was decided that the University of London was to serve as a model. The proposed university was to consist of a Chancellor, a Vice-Chancellor and Fellows who would constitute a Senate. The Senate would have the authority to manage the funds of the university and to frame regulations for examinations. The functions of the university would be to hold examinations and confer degrees. In the despatch it was explicitly stated that the examination for degrees should not include any subjects connected with religious belief.



On 27 June, 1855, The Court of Directors directed the Governor-General-in-Council to commence work. Meanwhile, the Government of India had set up a committee for preparing a scheme for the establishment of the universities in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. Gordon Young, the Director of Public Instruction in Bengal was appointed Secretary of the committee that was split up into five subcommittees. One prepared the draft of a bill for incorporation while another prepared draft rules for examinations for granting degrees and for other cognate matters in the Faculty of Arts. Three other subcommittees undertook similar work in the Faculties of Medicine, Law and Civil Engineering.



The University Act (Act No.II of 1857) was passed by the Legislative Council and received the Governor-General’s assent on 24 January, 1857. This was indeed the foundational legislation in the history of the University of Calcutta. Altogether forty persons were named as Foundation Fellows.



Viscount Canning became the first Chancellor and Sir James William Colvile the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta. The Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor and the Fellows together formed one ‘Body Politic and Corporate by the name of the University of Calcutta’. The Body Corporate had the power to hold and dispose of any property vested in it for the purpose of the University. They were to constitute the Senate.



The Entrance Examination was conducted by the University for the first time in 1857. Among two hundred and forty four candidates who applied for the Entrance, ten were from the Delhi College and the rest from Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. One hundred and fifteen were placed in the first division.



The first B.A. Examination was held early in 1858. The Board recommended, however, “that two candidates, viz., Bankim Chunder Chatterjee and Judoo Nath Bose…. be allowed to have their degree, being placed in the second division”. The M.A. Examination was held for the first time in 1861.



The almost sub-continental jurisdiction of the University of Calcutta was gradually curtailed, first in 1882 when undivided Punjab and N.W.F.P. and British Baluchistan went to the Punjab University and then again in 1887 when United Provinces, Central Provinces and adjoining areas passed into the hands of Allahabad University.



Walter B. Granville, Calcutta’s leading Victorian architect of that time, designed the Senate House. Once completed, it became the most visible symbol of the University and a veritable landmark in the ‘City of Palaces’. It was constructed at a cost of Rs 4,34,697 and was formally inaugurated on the convocation day: 12 March, 1873.



Premchand Roychand, a Parsi millionaire of Bombay, made an unconditional offer of Rupees two lakh. The fact that this liberal offer came from Bombay testifies to the sub-continental span of the University of Calcutta from the very beginning. The first recipient of the Premchand Roychand studentship in 1868 was Asutosh Mukhopadhyay (not the future Vice-Chancellor) and was followed by many eminent scholars. Other early donors included Prosunno Coomar Tagore, Eshan Chandra Bose, the Maharaja of Vijianagram, Harischandra Chaudhuri of Mymensing, Maharaja Nilmoni Singh Deo of Pachete and a few other trusts.



The first honorary degree of Doctor of Law was conferred on the Prince of Wales at a special convocation held on 3 January, 1876.



The changing social basis of the educated classes widened during this period. Henry Sumner Maine, the eminent jurist and the fourth Vice-Chancellor of the University admitted this in 1866 : “The fact is, that the founders of the University of Calcutta thought to create an aristocratic institution; and, in spite of themselves, they have created a popular institution”.



In 1883, the degree of Bachelor of Arts of the University of Calcutta was conferred on two students of the Bethune College–Kadambini Ganguli and Chandramukhi Basu. They were the first two lady graduates of the University.



Gooroodass Banerjee became the first Indian Vice-Chancellor in 1890.



In 1891, two nominees of the graduates – Jogindrachandra Ghosh and Mahendranath Ray – took their seats as the first elected Fellows of the University.



Indian Universities Commission was appointed in January, 1902. Thomas Raleigh, the then Vice- Chancellor of the University of Calcutta was its President. Its members initially consisted of Syed Hossain Bilgirami, J.P. Hewett, Alexander Pedlar, A.G. Bourne and D. Mackichan. Curzon later included Gooroo Dass Banerjee as an afterthought. Based on the recommendations of the Universities Commission, the government drafted The Universities Bill. Banerjee differed from the majority opinion and submitted a note of dissent.



On 1 May, 1903, Kalichurn Banerjee was appointed the first whole-time Registrar of the University. Shortly thereafter, the Indian Universities Act was enforced on 1 September, 1904.



Asutosh Mookerjee was appointed Vice-Chancellor in 1906. During his long tenure (1906-14) the University became a full-fledged teaching institution. Minto Chair in Economics (1908) and posts of King George V Professor of Mental and Moral Science and Hardinge Professor of Mathematics were created. University Press and the University Library were set up (1908) ; Law College was established (1909) and many distinguished teachers were appointed.



Taraknath Palit’s munificence led to the creation of two Professorships, one in Chemistry and the other in Physics. The first holder of the Palit Chair in Chemistry was Acharya Praphullachandra Ray and in Physics was Sir C.V. Raman.



Rashbehari Ghose placed in the hands of the University a gift of ten lakh Rupees. The University instituted, among others, four Professorships, one each in Applied Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Botany.



The foundation stone of the building designed for the University College of Science at 92, Upper Circular Road was laid on 27 March, 1914.



The Syndicate, at its meeting on 28 October, 1913 resolved to confer the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature on Rabindranath Tagore, along with Paul Vinogradoff, Sylvain Levi, Rashbehari Ghose and others.



The Commission, headed by M.E. Sadler, Vice- Chancellor of the University of Leeds, submitted its report to the government in 1919. In this eight-member Commission the two Indian members were Sir Asutosh Mookerjee and Dr. Zia-ud-din Ahmad of Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, Aligarh. Apart from suggesting a thorough overhaul of the structure, it recommended that the Governor of Bengal and not the Governor-General should be the Chancellor.



The government created a few more universities at Patna (1917), Rangoon (1920) and Dacca (1921).



Kumar Guruprasad Singh of Khaira donated fund for five Chairs, one each in Indian Fine Arts (named after his wife Rani Bagiswari), Phonetics, Physics, Chemistry and Agriculture.



In 1921, when Brajendranath Seal was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of Mysore University, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was selected in his place as George V Professor of Philosophy.



Asutosh again became Vice-Chancellor in 1921. He was offered another term in 1923 under conditions which Asutosh found unacceptable. He wrote back to the Bengal Governor, “I send you without hesitation the only answer which an honourable man can send, an answer which you and your advisers expect and desire: I decline the insulting offer you have made to me”.



The University attracted eminent educationists and scholars from different parts. Apart from stalwarts like C.V. Raman, Nilratan Sircar, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan or Praphullachandra Ray, new entrants to its portal included Dineschandra Sen, Sunitikumar Chatterjee, Hiralal Halder, H.C. Roychaudhuri, D.C. Sarkar, Harendra Coomar Mookherjee, Surendranath Sen and a host of others who had made their mark in their respective fields and had won many accolades for the University.



In 1926, the Asutosh Building was formally opened.



In 1934, Syamaprasad Mookerjee became the Vice-Chancelor. At the age of 33, he became the youngest Vice-Chancellor of the University. During Syamaprasad’s tenure the University opened the Teachers’ Training Department in 1935 and the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art in 1937.



In 1937, Rabindranath was requested to compose a song which was to be adopted as the University song. Rabindranath responded to the request by composing two songs instead of one. These were: Chalo Jai, Chalo Jai and Shuvo Karmapathe Dharo Nirvayo Gaan. It was in 1937 that the poet addressed the Convocation in Bengali.



In 1940, the University Press and Book Depot was set up on Hazra Road. In 1945, the Institute of Nuclear Physics was founded under the inspired leadership of Professor Meghnad Saha.



In 1947 Chakravarti Rajagopalachari became the first Indian Chancellor of the University.



In 1951, with the passing of the West Bengal Secondary Education Act, the University severed its historic link with school-leaving examination.



In 1951, the Government of West Bengal passed the Calcutta University Act which replaced the earlier act of 1904. Apart from providing closer coordination of the colleges under the University, it ensured a democratic structure of the University. This was again to be replaced by Calcutta University Act of 1979.



Emerging areas of scientific research, e.g. Nuclear Physics, Radiophysics and Electronics, Biophysics, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Plant Science and Cell Biology, Microbiology, Atmospheric Science, Environmental Science, Information Technology and Computer Applications have been introduced as courses of studies. Moving into new areas does not, of course, imply marginalisation of basic science. In fact a balanced mix between the two has been envisaged.



In the fields of Social Sciences, Language and Literature, the achievements of the University has always been commendable. While subjects like Economics, History, Philosophy, Comparative Philology or Modern Indian Languages have a long and established tradition, relatively new departments such as Ancient Indian History and Culture (1932), Political Science (1948) or Sociology have also curved out their niche in the academic map. New centres, named after Gandhi or Nehru have been created, Centre for Social Sciences and Humanities has been set up and DSA support has been extended to a large number of departments.



The NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) conferred Five Star Status on the University of Calcutta in 2001.



On November 10, 2005, The Times Higher Education Supplement published its list of world’s top arts and humanities universities. University of Calcutta is the only Indian university to make it to the top 50 list.



Dr. B.C. Guha Centre for Genetics Engineering and Biotechnology was established on March 22, 2005 to mark the beginning of an entirely different chapter in the history of the University and its research and teaching programme in applied bioscience.



The University Grants Commission has recognised the University’s potentials for excellence by conferring on it ‘University with Potential for Excellence’ status.



On 17 January, 2006, the year-long Post Centenary Golden Jubilee Celebration was inaugurated by the President of India.



With the financial assistance of the Ministry of Human Resource Development the University established the Centre for Research in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in June 2006.



Set up in 2007, the Centre for Studies in Book Publishing (CSBP) at the University of Calcutta represents a new genre of multi-disciplinary academic endeavour and is the first of its kind which focuses on the study of book publishing in India.



Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy was set up in 2007 with the objective of multi-disciplinary collaborative research and publication.



TEQIP is a World Bank funded project for the improvement of the quality of the technical education in the whole country. The University of Calcutta is one of the three premier institutes selected for taking the responsibility to upgrade the teaching quality in the engineering disciplines in West Bengal under this Programme.



The Administrative Staff College, perhaps the first of its kind, was set up in 2009 for imparting training to the non-teaching staff of the University.



In 2009 the National Assessment and Accreditation Council has re-accredited the University with Grade A.



According to 2009 assessment of the Top Asian Universities, University of Calcutta ranks third within the Indian universities (www.topuniversities.com)

With the Sponsorship of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, the University has been able to establish the Institute of Foreign Policy Studies on 25 February 2010, to conduct research and training programme in the realm of foreign policies, especially, on issues concerning India’s relationship with her South Asian neighbours, South East Asia, and West Asia.

Notable firsts:

A Tradition of Notable Firsts: 

The first University located to the east of Suez to teach European Classics, English Literature, European and Indian Philosophy and Occidental and Oriental History.



The first medical school of Asia, the Calcutta Medical College was set up in 1835.Later it was affiliated to the University.

The first college for women in India, the Bethune College was set up in 1879.

The nation’s first homoeopathy college was established in 1880.

The Science College was established in 1914, the first in India.

The first blind school in India came into being in 1925 which was affiliated to the University.

The first University Museum in India, the Ashutosh Museum, came into being in 1937.

The Government Art College was established in 1951.

The Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM) was set up in1953 as the country’s first Management Institute.

 First Affiliated Institutions: 

Parental Academic Institution and Doverton College (Doverton College), Calcutta

St. Paul’s School, Calcutta (Re-affiliated in 1936)

Free Church Institution, Calcutta

La Martiniere, Calcutta (Re-affiliated in 1928)

London Missionary Society’s Institution, Bhowanipur

Presidency College, Calcutta

Medical College, Calcutta

Calcutta Civil Engineering College (Bengal Engineering College, Howrah – at present Bengal Engineering and Science University)

(Re- affiliated in 1880)

Hooghly College (Hooghly Mohsin College), Hooghly

Dacca College, Dacca

Krishnagar College, Krishnagar

Krishnath College, Berhampore

Serampore College, Serampore (Re-affiliated in 1911)

Early Beginnings University’s first Senate included:

Alexander Duff

Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Prosunno Coomar Tagore

Prince Golam Mohammad

William Gordon Pratt

Frederick John Mouat

Calcutta University - 1870

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

Juddoonath Bose
(Both bankim and juddoonath are the first two graduates from the university)

Chandramukhi Basu
Chandramukhi Basu (1860 - 1944) was one of the first two female graduates of the British Empire . Along with Kadambini Ganguli, she received her Bachelor's degree in Arts from the Bethune College, an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta, in 1883. Her name also falls in the list of some of the distinguished alumni of past from the university.

Kadambini Ganguli
(Both Chandramukhi and Kadambini are the first two lady graduates from the university)

Calcutta University in the mid ninteenth century

University of Calcutta logo printed in a book in 1920

Seals of the University changed over the years
These are the past and present seals of the University. The first one was adopted when the University was inaugurated in 1857. It was changed a few years later, after the Government of India had passed under the Crown. Seal three was used only for a brief period in 1930. Many will remember the criticisms raised by seal four in the 1930s in Bengal. Seal five was introduced in 1934, but had a very short life. The present seal of the University (seal seven) is a modification of seal six.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Bankimchandra Chatterjee (1838-1894) was born in the village of Kanthalpara in the district of 24-Parganas on 27 June, 1838. Bankimchandra was one of the two students of the first B.A. batch of the University of Calcutta. Following in his father's footsteps, Bankimchandra joined the Subordinate Executive Service and became a deputy magistrate and deputy collector.

Nabinchandra Sen
Nabinchandra Sen (1847-1909), poet, was born in Noapara village in Chittagong (in modern-day Bangladesh) on 10 February, 1847. He passed the Entrance examination (1863) from Chittagong School, F.A. (1865) from Presidency College in Calcutta and B.A. (1868) from General Assembly, Calcutta. He taught briefly at Hare School in Calcutta before joining government service as deputy magistrate. He retired in 1904.

(The above two are some of the the distinguished alumni of past from the University of Calcutta)

Oldest known School of Calcutta

Nisi Dominus Frustra - Except the Lord, effort in Vain

St. Thomas School - boys and girls - Founded 1789

An old image of the school

Origin and History

St. Thomas’ School, founded in the year 1789 for the English community of Calcutta is the oldest school in West Bengal and the second oldest in India. It traces it its direct antecedents back in 1729 as the Charity School. The President of India is its Patron, and its affairs are controlled by a strong and influential Board of Governors as determined by the St. Thomas’ School Act of 1923.



His Grace, the Bishop of Calcutta is the Chairman of the Board of Governors. The Master of the Calcutta Traders Association is also an ex-officio member. The Board has representatives from the Government of West Bengal, the Bengal Chamber of Commerce, and the Anglo Indian Association, the Vestries of St. Paul’s Cathedral, St. John’s Church and St. Stephen’s Church. There are five co-opted members who include elected representatives of the five teaching staffs.



The origin of St. Thomas’ School, Kidderpore, may be traced to the charity school, which in the words of Reverend W.K. Farminger, was founded somewhat between 1726 and 1731. Proper records were made and preserved from 1787 by the Select Vestry of the new church (new St. John’s Church) which took over the running of the Charity Fund and School. “A plan for establishing a Free School Society for the Education of Children” was submitted at a meeting held on December 21, 1787, presided over by Lord Cornwallis at the Old Court House. The House of Impey’s colleague Mr. Justice Le Maistre was purchased in 1785. On April 21, 1800, a general meeting was called to unite the Old Charity School Fund and the Free School Funds.



In 1833, a new Constitution was passed with the Governor- General as patrons. A lot of additions were made to the school between 1833-41. During the revolt of 1857, the school continued in the old school rooms. The school came under the Government inspection for the first time in in 1882. Since that time, the school has worked under the Code of Regulations for European Schools. In 1915, the extensive Kidderpore house property was bequeathed to the Free School Society, upon which the present school stands. A couple of years later, this institution was renamed as the St. Thomas’ School Society. A bill called the St. Thomas’ School Act was passed by the Legislative council of Bengal in 1923. The name of the school was also changed from the Calcutta Free School to St. Thomas’ Schools.

A new hospital block was erected in 1924. Extensive repairs were done in the Kidderpore House in 1925 with financial aid from the Government. In 1948, the present Girls’ School main building was built. In 1956 St. Thomas’ was selected as the first Anglo Indian School in which multipurpose higher education was introduced. A year later, the Boys’ school Science and Old Technical Block were built followed by the Girls’ school dormitory, the present main block of the boy’s school. In 1977 the Jeanne D’Abreau block in memory of Late Miss Jeanne D’Abreau , the Lady Principal of the girls school for almost 25 years. The John Siromoni Technical block was built in the early 1980’s. at the site where Kidderpore House once stood. St. Thomas’ School caters to a vast cross section of society and can steadfastly refute any charges against it for elitism.  The school stands for its motto NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA.

Oldest known College of Calcutta

Presidency College or Hindoo College (presently Presidency University) - Founded 1817

Presidency College has a unique place in history. It was one of the first institutes of Western-type higher education in Asia. In 1817, a group of enlightened Indians and Englishmen set up the Hindoo College. This was taken over the British Government in 1855 as the College of the Bengal Presidency, and placed in 1857 under the newly founded Calcutta University.



Over the next hundred years and more, Presidency College was Bengal’s pre-eminent centre of higher learning. Although a Constituent College of Calcutta University, it preserved a tradition of research matched by few universities in India. This gave a unique dimension to its undergraduate teaching.

The formal establishment of Presidency University in July 2010 allows it to refashion its venerable traditions and continuing strengths into a leading institution of the future.

Brief History of the College

The 'Hindoo College’, established in 1817, was transformed into the ‘Presidency College of Bengal' in 1855. The Hindoo College was the earliest institution of higher learning in the modern sense in Asia. The Presidency College introduced western education in the historical sense of the term and was originally a non-government college meant for the sons of the Hindu community alone. But the Centenary Volume (1955) notes: ‘The most striking feature of the Hindu College was its determined effort to impart secular education.’ In 1855 when the Hindoo College was renamed Presidency College, it became a government institution. The college now represented non-denominational secularism and admitted young men from all communities. However, it was only in 1944 that girls were permitted to join the college. Since then, the college has been a co-educational institution.



The Hindoo-Presidency College, which aimed from the beginning at a liberal, scientific and secular education, stood on the side of the ‘Anglicists’ in the famous Anglicist-Orientalist debate. This meant that the college stood for modern, western education in the English medium. This, however, would not entail a neglect of Indian themes and subjects. This was borne out by the contribution of the students of the college to Bengali language and literature. The subjects taught at the outset were English, Bengali, Sanskrit, History, Geography, Chronology, Astronomy, Mathematics, Chemistry and some other science subjects. In addition, Law, Commerce and Engineering were taught for some time, but teaching of these was discontinued later. Consequently, the college emerged as the most celebrated institution in India to impart a humanistic and scientific education. The pioneering discoveries of Jagadish Chandra Bose and Praphulla Chandra Ray in Physics / Plant Physiology and Chemistry respectively were made in the laboratories of the college. Teaching of both liberal arts and empirical sciences acquired true excellence in the nineteenth century and the tradition continued even after independence. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Anandaram Barooah, students of the college, enriched Bengali and Assamese literature. S.N.Bose, M.N.Saha, P.C.Mahalanobish, Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri, Shyamal Sengupta, Ashoke Sen made world-class contribution in the field of basic science. Amartya Sen and Sukhamoy Chakraborty made contributions to economic theory in the decades after independence. These names are merely illustrative, for the alumni of the college have distinguished themselves both nationally and internationally in various fields. The college, amongst whose alumni were a President of India (Dr. Rajendra Prasad), a Prime Minister of Pakistan (Muhammad Ali of Bogra) and a President of Bangladesh (Abu Sayeed Chowdhury), has a challenging past to live up to. This challenge of a glorious history and venerable tradition is perhaps our greatest strength. In recognition of its rich heritage of academic excellence the Legislature of West Bengal conferred the status of a University on Presidency College on 7th July of 2010. This was enacted with a view to enabling Presidency University to function more efficiently as a centre of teaching and research in various branches of learning, especially in Humanities, Social and Basic Sciences, and promoting advancement and dissemination of knowledge and learning in the service of the society and the nation.

Notable Alumnis of past includes (list not exhaustive)

1) Swami Vivekananda - founder of Ramakrishna mission and math

2) Durga Mohan Das - leader of the Bramho Samaj

3) Peary Chand Mitra - Famous for first true Bengali novel, 'Alaaler ghorer dulal' also known as Dickens of Bengal.

4) Surendranath Banerjea - 11th President of the Indian National Congress

5) Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose - 53rd President of the Indian National Congress, Freedom fighter and founder of the Forward Bloc (later expelled)

6) Nripendra Narayan Bhup Bhahadur - Maharaja of Coochbehar

7) Jagdish Chandra Bose - Inventor of wireless communications, Cresco graph and discovered life in plants

8) Satyendra Nath Bose - Discovered Bose-Einstein statistics along with Albert Einstein; Bosons

9) Bankim Chandra Chatterjee - Poet and Novelist

10) Keshab Chandra Sen - Brahmo Reformer; founder of the Nababidhan Samaj

Presidency College Calcutta in the mid nineteenth century, (Photographer: Francis Frith, Date: Between 1850s to 1870s)

A brief on Kolkata

Fort William, a view from inside, c. 1828

The Black Hole of Calcutta. Copyright, 1908, by Stereo- Travel Co, New York City

The Holwell Monument, Calcutta.

Calcutta (present day Kolkata), is the capital city of West Bengal state (also labelled as the cultural capital of India and city of joy) former capital (1772-1912) of British India, and India's second largest metropolitan area.

It is located on the Hooghly River, about 90 miles (145 km) from the river's mouth.

The city previously was a colonial city developed by the British East India Company and then by the British Raj or Empire.


Established as an English trading centre in 1690, it became the seat of the Bengal presidency in 1707. It was captured by Siraj-ud-Daulah, the nawab (empire) of Bengal, who in 1756 imprisoned the English there (in a prison that was later known as the Black Hole of Calcutta).

The Black Hole of Calcutta was a small dungeon in the old Fort William (a fort originally built in 1696 by the British East India Company on the eastern banks of the River Hooghly. Later another one was built by Robert Clive in the year 1781 because of the capture of the original Fort by the nawab of Bengal. It is located in the periphery of the lush green Maidan - literary means an open field and also is the largest urban park in Calcutta. Fort William has the dubious distinction of being the only Fort in the world from which not a single shot was fired) where troops of Siraj-ud-Daulah held British prisoner of war after the capture of the Fort on 19th June, 1756. One of the prisoners, John Zephaniah Holwell, claimed that following the fall of the fort, British and Anglo-Indian soldiers and civilians were held overnight in conditions so cramped that many died from suffocation, heat exhaustion and crushing. He claimed that 123 prisoners died out of 146 prisoners held. However, the precise number of deaths, and the accuracy of Holwell’s claims, has been the subject of controversy.

The city was later retaken back after the British troops under Robert Clive defeated the nawab of Bengal in the famous battle of Plassey (a town about 150 km north of Calcutta) on 23rd June, 1757.

After that Calcutta was an extremely busy 19th century commercial centre, then began a decline suddenly with the removal of the capital to Delhi (present day New Delhi) in the year 1912.

The decline continued when the province was partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947 and when Bangladesh (also called East Bengal) was created in 1971.
The flood of refugees from these political upheavals boosted the city's population but also significantly added to its widespread poverty.

In September 2000 flood-waters inundated the city, leaving hundreds dead and tens of thousands homeless.

Despite its problems, Ours very own Kolkata remains a dominant urban area of eastern India and a major educational and cultural centre.

Etymology:

The word Kolkata derives from the Bengali term Kolikata, the name of one of three villages that predated the arrival of the British, in the area where the city eventually was to be established; the other two villages were Sutanuti and Govindapur. The term Kolikata is thought to be a variation of Kalikkhetro, meaning "Field of [the goddess] Kali". Alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term kilkila, or "flat area". The name may have its origin in the words khal meaning "canal", followed by kaṭa, which may mean "dug". According to another theory, the area specialised in the production of quicklime or koli chun and coir or kata; hence, it was called Kolikata. While the city's name has always been pronounced Kolkata or Kolikata in Bengali, the anglicised form Calcutta was the official name until 2001, when it was changed to Kolkata in order to match Bengali pronunciation.