Raja Gopi Mohan Tagore (1760–1819) was a scion of the Pathuriaghata Tagore family and noted

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

and philanthropist from

Bengal region Bengal ( ) is a historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Bengal proper is divided between the modern- ...

of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

Life and works

He was son of Darpanarayan Tagore, who branched and founded

Pathuriaghata Pathuriaghata is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is one of the oldest residential areas in what was Sutanuti. Once the abode of the Bengali rich, the neighbourhood and its surroundi ...

branch of Tagore family. He knew Sanskrit, French, Portuguese, English, Persian and Urdu languages. Gopi Mohan Tagore was well known for his wealth and in 1812, made what may be the largest ever gift of gold to the Kali temple at

Kalighat Kalighat is a locality of Kolkata (Calcutta), in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. One of the oldest neighbourhoods in South Kolkata, Kalighat is also densely populated — with a history of cultural intermingling with the various foreig ...

. He was one of the founders of

Presidency College, Kolkata Presidency University, formerly Presidency College, is a public state university located in College Street, Kolkata. Established in 1817 as the ''Hindoo College'', it was later renamed ''Presidency College'' in 1855 and functioned as a leadi ...

, the institution that initiated western education in the country. He was fluent in English, and familiar with French, Portuguese, Sanskrit, Persian and Urdu, apart from Bengali. His donation for founding of Presidency College later known as Hindu College was second largest, next only to Maharaja of Burdwan and a marble tablet was erected of him in Library Hall of College to commemorate it. He was later appointed Governor of

Hindu College Hindu College may refers to several colleges around the world, including: India * Dharmamurthi Rao Bhahadur Calavala Cunnan Chetty's Hindu College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu * Gobardanga Hindu College, West Bengal *Hindu College, Delhi, founded in 1899 ...

and instituted a scholarship in his name for the eligible students. Gopi Mohan celebrated

Durga Puja Durga Puja (ISO 15919, ISO: , ), also known as Durgotsava or Shaaradotsava, is an annual festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which pays homage to the Hinduism, Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victo ...

with grandeur and many Europeans including General Wellesly attended the festival and dinner hosted by him. He was a great patron of art, music,

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 ...

learning and athletic sports and used to donate generously for this purpose. The famous wrestler, Radha Gowla, was in his pay role. Among others in his pensioners were Lakhi Kanta, the noted Bengali lyricist and Kali Mirza, the noted singer of that time. He was a close friend of Raja Raj Krishna Deb of Sovabazar Raj. He once assisted father of Raja Baroda Kanta Roy of

Jessore Jessore (, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District in Khulna Division. It lies in southwestern Bangladesh. It is home to the first flight training school of the Bangladeshi Air Force, established in 1971. Jessore city consists of 9 wa ...

. He had begun the Tagore family's art collection with the assistance of the British artist

George Chinnery George Chinnery (; 5 January 1774 – 30 May 1852) was an English painter who spent most of his life in Asia, especially India and Northern and southern China, southern China. Early life Chinnery was born in London, where he studied a ...

, who had visited Calcutta in 1803.,''Prodyot Coomar Tagore, Catalogue of the Pictures and Sculptures in the Collection of the Maharajah Tagore'', Thacker, Spink Calcutta, 1905. which was later expanded by his great-grandson,

Prodyot Coomar Tagore Maharaja Bahadur Sir Prodyot Coomar Tagore Order of the Indian Empire, KCIE (17 September 1873 – 28 August 1942) was a leading land owner, philanthropist, art collector, and photographer in Kolkata, India. He belonged to the Pathuriaghata bran ...

. He was the founder of Shyamnagar Mulajore Kali Temple at

Shyamnagar Shyamnagar () is an upazila of Satkhira District in Khulna Division, Bangladesh. Geography Shyamnagar is located at . It has 46,592 households and a total area of 1968.23 km2. Shyamnagar Upazila is bordered by Kaliganj (Satkhira) and Assa ...

. He founded it in mid May 1802. He had six sons and a daughter. Surji Kumar, Chandra Kumar, Nanda Kumar, Kali Kumar, Hara Kumar and Prassana Kumar., of which

Hara Kumar Tagore Hara Kumar Tagore (1798–1858) was a leading land owner, philanthropist, Sanskrit scholar, writer and musician from Calcutta. He belonged to the Pathuriaghata branch of the Tagore family. Life He was the eldest son of Gopi Mohan Tagore and h ...

and

Prasanna Kumar Tagore Prasanna may refer to: People As sole name * Prasanna (actor) (Prasanna Venkatesan, active from 2001), Indian film actor * Prasanna (theatre director) (born 1951), Indian theatre director and playwright * V. V. Prasanna, a Tamil playback sing ...

both of whom carried forward legacy of Tagore family, were noted.

Family tree

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tagore, Gopi Mohan 1760 births 1819 deaths Bengali Hindus 18th-century Bengalis People from Kolkata Bengali zamindars Gopi Mahan 18th-century Indian educators Founders of Indian schools and colleges Indian philanthropists Social workers from West Bengal