The Boden Scholarship at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

was established in 1833 to support students learning

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

History and scholars

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

Joseph Boden, after whom the scholarship is named, served in the Bombay Native Infantry of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...

from 1781 until his retirement in 1807. He died on 21 November 1811, and his will provided that his estate should pass to the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

after his daughter's death to establish a professorship in Sanskrit. His daughter died in August 1827, the university accepted Boden's bequest in November 1827, and the first

Boden Professor of Sanskrit The position of Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford was established in 1832 with money bequeathed to the university by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Boden, a retired soldier in the service of the East India Company. He wished ...

was elected in 1832. Boden's bequest is also used to provide scholarships "for the encouragement of the study of, and proficiency in, the Sanskrit Language and Literature". Under arrangements sanctioned by the

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equ ...

in 1830 and 1860, the scholarships (two at first, later increased to four) were open to students at the university under the age of 25, and were tenable for four years. The scholars received £50 annually in the 19th century. Women were allowed to compete for the scholarships from 1931 onwards. As of 2012, scholarships are tenable only for two years, with the possibility of extension to a third year, and are open to all graduate members of the university (apart from those whose "vernacular language is any Indian language") under the age of 30 and who have not been at Oxford for more than three years. The number of scholars and the value of the award are no longer set and are decided by the university's Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Scholars

William Alder Strange William Alder Strange (1813–1874) was a headmaster and author. Background and education The son of William Strange of Jersey and Abingdon, a wine merchant, William Alder Strange was educated at Christ's Hospital, London, where he was Senior ...

(1833) * Alexander Forbes, later

Bishop of Brechin The Bishop of Brechin is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Brechin or Angus, based at Dundee. Brechin Cathedral, Brechin is a parish church of the established (presbyterian) Church of Scotland. The diocese had a long-established Gaelic ...

. *

Edward Johnston Edward Johnston, CBE (11 February 1872 – 26 November 1944) was a British craftsman who is regarded, with Rudolf Koch, as the father of modern calligraphy, in the particular form of the broad-edged pen as a writing tool. He is most fa ...

, Indologist *

Robert Payne Smith Robert Payne Smith (7 November 1818 – 31 March 1895) was Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford and Canon of Christ Church from 1865 until 1870, when he was appointed Dean of Canterbury by Queen Victoria on the advice of Wil ...

(later

Dean of Canterbury The Dean of Canterbury is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury, England. The current office of Dean originated after the English Reformation, although Deans had also existed before this time; its immediate prec ...

) *

Brajendranath De Brajendranath Dey (23 December 1852 – 20 September 1932) was an early Indian member of the Indian Civil Service. Early life and education De studied at Hare School, Calcutta, and then Canning Collegiate School and Canning College, Lucknow. ...

, ICS, Divisional Commissioner (Acting), Burdwan, BengalOxford University Calendar, 1875, p. 376 *

Har Dayal Lala Har Dayal Mathur (Punjabi: ਲਾਲਾ ਹਰਦਿਆਲ; 14 October 1884 – 4 March 1939) was an Indian nationalist revolutionary and freedom fighter. He was a polymath who turned down a career in the Indian Civil Service. His simple ...

later founder of the Ghadar Party *

Arthur Venis Arthur Venis (4 October 1857 – 5 June 1918) was a British educator and Sanskrit scholar. He was also a Member of the Legislative Council of the United Province. Life He was the second son of Edward John Lazarus M.D. of Calcutta and Benares; his ...

, Sanskrit Scholar

References

{{reflist, 2 Awards established in 1833 Scholarships in the United Kingdom Awards and prizes of the University of Oxford 1833 establishments in England Sanskrit