James Augustus Hicky
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James Augustus Hicky was an
Irishman The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been co ...
who launched the first printed newspaper in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, ''
Hicky's Bengal Gazette ''Hicky's Bengal Gazette or the Original Calcutta General Advertiser'' was an English-language weekly newspaper published in Kolkata (then Calcutta), the capital of British India(then Known as the Presidency of Fort William.. It was the first ...
''.


Early life

Hicky was born in Ireland around the year 1740. While young, he moved to London to apprentice with William Faden, a Scottish printer. However, Hicky never took his freedom from the printers' guild, and instead secured a clerkship with an English lawyer, William Davy. At some point Hicky quit his career in law, and, after a brief attempt practicing as a surgeon in London, he boarded an
East Indiaman East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...
as a surgeon's mate bound for
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
in 1772. Upon landing in Calcutta, Hicky practiced as both a surgeon and a merchant, shipping and trading goods along India's coast. But, by 1776, his shipping business collapsed as his vessel returned to port with its cargo badly damaged. Unable to reassure his creditors, Hicky entered debtors' prison in October 1776. While in jail, Hicky acquired a printing press and types and by 1777 began a printing business from jail. In 1778, Hicky hired Lawyer William Hickey (who, confusingly, was not related to Hicky) to get rid of his debts and free him from jail.


Hicky's Bengal Gazette

Hicky began publication of ''
Hicky's Bengal Gazette ''Hicky's Bengal Gazette or the Original Calcutta General Advertiser'' was an English-language weekly newspaper published in Kolkata (then Calcutta), the capital of British India(then Known as the Presidency of Fort William.. It was the first ...
'' on 29 January 1780. Hicky first maintained a neutral editing policy but after he learned that other men were about to bring a rival newspaper, ''
The India Gazette ''The India Gazette; or, Calcutta Public Advertiser'' was an English language weekly newspaper published in Kolkata (then Calcutta), the capital of British India. It was the second newspaper printed in India. Founded by Bernard Messink and Pet ...
'', to market, he accused an East India Company employee, Simeon Droz of supporting the ''India Gazette's'' editors because he had refused to pay a bribe to Droz and Marian Hastings,
Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-Genera ...
' wife. In retaliation for Hicky's accusation, Hastings' Supreme Council forbid Hicky from mailing his newspaper through the post office. Hicky claimed Hastings' order violated his right to free expression, and accused Hastings of corruption, tyranny, and even erectile dysfunction. Hicky also accused other British leaders in Calcutta of corruption, including the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William The Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Calcutta, was founded in 1774 by the Regulating Act of 1773. It replaced the Mayor's Court of Calcutta and was British India's highest court from 1774 until 1862, when the High Court of Calcu ...
,
Elijah Impey Sir Elijah Impey (13 June 17321 October 1809) was a British judge, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, Chief Justice of the Sadr Diwani Adalat and MP for New Romney. Life He was born the young ...
, and the leader of the Protestant Mission, Johann Zacharias Kiernander. Hicky's editorial independence was short-lived as Hastings and Kiernander sued him for libel. After four dramatic trials in June 1781, the Supreme Court found Hicky guilty and sentenced him to jail. Hicky continued to print his newspaper from jail and continued to accuse Hastings and other of corruption. He was finally shuttered when Hastings instituted fresh lawsuits against him. ''Hicky's Bengal Gazette'' ceased publication on 30 March 1782 when its types were seized by an order of the Supreme Court.


Later life

Hicky was freed from jail about Christmas 1784, when Warren Hastings, about to embark to England to face impeachment, forgave his debts. Little is known about Hicky's later life, except that his health was ruined after three years in jail, and that he lived in poverty. Hicky died on a boat to China in October 1802.


Legacy

Although his newspaper was disliked by the then
Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
of India, Warren Hastings, Hicky paved the way and influenced multiple Indians to start newspapers. Hicky's printing office was the training ground for many later printers who went on to found their own newspapers, leading to a vibrant newspaper scene in Bengal. Abhijit Ganguly
''Raging Against The Raj: The First Newspaper in Asia''
Business Economics Magazine, 30 June 2014.
No images of Hicky survive to this day. However, his signature and handwriting can be found on old documents.


References


External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:Hicky, James Augustus Irish expatriates in India Irish newspaper editors 18th-century Irish people People imprisoned for debt 18th-century British journalists 18th-century Indian people 1740 births 1802 deaths