Alexander Hamilton (linguist)
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Alexander Hamilton FRS (1762–1824) was a British linguist who was one of the first Europeans to study the
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
language.T. K. John, "Research and Studies by Western Missionaries and Scholars in Sanskrit Language and Literature," in the St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India, Vol. III, Ollur richur2010 Ed. George Menachery, pp. 79–83 He taught the language to most of the earliest European scholars of Indo-European linguistics. He became the first professor of Sanskrit in Europe.


In India

Hamilton seems to have been born in India, but Scotland is not impossible. He was a first cousin of his namesake, American statesman
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
. He became a lieutenant in the navy of the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
and arrived in 1783.''History of Linguistics. History of Linguistics. Vol. IV, pg. 67. Nineteenth-Century Linguistics by Giulio Lepschy'', by Anna Morpurgo Davies While stationed in India he joined the
Asiatic Society of Bengal The Asiatic Society is an organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of " Oriental research" (in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions). It was founded by the philologist Will ...
founded by
Sir William Jones Sir William Jones (28 September 1746 – 27 April 1794) was a British philologist, orientalist, Indologist and judge. Born in Westminster, London to Welsh mathematician William Jones, he moved to the Bengal Presidency where Jones served as ...
and Sir
Charles Wilkins Sir Charles Wilkins (1749 – 13 May 1836) was an English typographer and oriental studies, Orientalist, and founding member of the The Asiatic Society, Asiatic Society. He is notable as the first translator of the Bhagavad Gita into English. ...
. He also married a Bengali woman.


In France

After the death of Jones in India, Wilkins and Hamilton were the only Europeans who had studied Sanskrit. Both returned to Europe around 1797. Wilkins remained in England but Hamilton went to France after the
Treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France, the Spanish Empire, and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it set t ...
(1802) to collate Sanskrit manuscripts held at the
Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...
in Paris. After war broke out between Britain and France in 1803 Hamilton was interned as an enemy alien, but was released to carry on his researches at the insistence of the French scholar Constantine Volney. Hamilton taught Sanskrit to Volney and others, including
Friedrich Schlegel Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (after 1814: von) Schlegel ( ; ; 10 March 1772 – 12 January 1829) was a German literary critic, philosopher, and Indologist. With his older brother, August Wilhelm Schlegel, he was one of the main figures of Jena Roma ...
and Jean-Louis Burnouf, the father of Eugene Burnouf. Hamilton spend most of his time compiling a catalogue of Indian manuscripts in the library which was published in 1807. Hamilton lived in Schlegel's house, the former house of
Baron d'Holbach Paul Thiry, Baron d'Holbach (; ; 8 December 1723 – 21 January 1789), known as d'Holbach, was a Franco-German philosopher, encyclopedist and writer, who was a prominent figure in the French Enlightenment. He was born in Edesheim, near Landau ...
in Rue de Clichy, together with Sulpiz Boisserée and his brother. In 1806 he was appointed at Hertford College, becoming the first Sanskrit professor in Europe. In 1808 Hamilton was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
. He became professor of "Sanscrit and Hindoo literature" at
Haileybury College Haileybury is a co-educational public school (fee-charging boarding and day school for 11- to 18-year-olds) located in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire. It is a member of the Rugby Group and enrols pupils at the 11+, 13+ and 16+ stages of edu ...
. He assisted Wilkins with his revisions to his translation of the ''
Hitopadesha ''Hitopadesha'' (Sanskrit: हितोपदेशः, IAST: ''Hitopadeśa'', "Beneficial Advice") is an Indian text in the Sanskrit language consisting of fables with both animal and human characters. It incorporates maxims, worldly wisdom and ...
''.Rosane Rocher, ''Alexander Hamilton, 1762–1824; a chapter in the early history of Sanskrit philology'', American Oriental Society (1968). In 1813, Hamilton completed his catalogue of the Bibliothèque Nationale manuscripts. Following the end of the
Napoleonic wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
many German scholars came to study with him, notably
Franz Bopp Franz Bopp (; 14 September 1791 – 23 October 1867) was a German linguistics, linguist known for extensive and pioneering comparative linguistics, comparative work on Indo-European languages. Early life Bopp was born in Mainz, but the pol ...
and
August Wilhelm Schlegel August Wilhelm von Schlegel (Schlegel until 1812; ; ; 8 September 176712 May 1845) was a German Indologist, poet, translator and critic. With his brother Friedrich Schlegel, he was a leading influence within Jena Romanticism. His translations o ...
.


Death

Hamilton died at
Liscard Liscard is an area of the town of Wallasey, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The most centrally located of Wallasey's townships, it is the main shopping area of the town, with many shops located in the Cherry Tree Sh ...
on 30 December 1824, aged 62.


Works

Hamilton published: * ''The Hitopadesa in the Sanscrit Language'', London, 1811; * ''Terms of Sanscrit Grammar'', London, 1815; and * ''A Key to the Chronology of the Hindus'', 1820. He also wrote magazine articles on ancient Indian geography. The catalogue was translated, annotated, and published by
Louis-Mathieu Langlès Louis-Mathieu Langlès (23 August 1763 – 28 January 1824) was a French academic, philologist, linguist, translator, author, librarian and oriental studies, orientalist. He was the conservator of the oriental manuscripts at the Bibliothèque Nat ...
in the ''Magasin Encyclopédique'', 1807.


References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Alexander 1762 births 1824 deaths English orientalists English Indologists British Sanskrit scholars British East India Company Marine personnel Sanskrit–English translators