John Faithfull Fleet C.I.E (1847 – 21 February 1917) was an English civil servant with the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

and became known as a historian,

epigraphist Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

and linguist. His research in Indian epigraphy and

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

, conducted in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

over a thirty-year period, is published in books including ''Pali, Sanskrit and Old Canarese Inscriptions'', ''The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of The Bombay Presidency from the earliest historical times to the Musalman Conquest'', and ''The Inscriptions of The Early Gupta Kings and their Successors''. He was a regular contributor to works journals covering Indian history. His published well-regarded works on inscriptions in 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 ...

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

and

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

languages and on the history of dynasties such as the

Guptas The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...

Kadambas The Kadamba dynasty were an ancient royal family from modern Karnataka, India, that ruled northern Karnataka and the Konkan from Banavasi in present-day Uttara Kannada, Uttara Kannada district in India. The kingdom was founded by Mayurash ...

Aulikaras The Aulikaras (Late Brahmi script: ''Au-li-ka-rā''), were an ancient clan that ruled the Kingdom of Malwa between the 4th-century CE and 6th-century CE. Epigraphical discoveries have brought to light two royal lines, who call themselves as ...

Chalukyas The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

Rashtrakutas The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta Indian inscriptions, inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing th ...

and Seunas.Barnett, L. D
"Obituary Notice: John Faithfull Fleet, C.I.E."
''

The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland The ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'' is an academic journal which publishes articles on the history, archaeology, literature, language, religion and art of South Asia, the Middle East (together with North Africa and Ethiopia), Central Asia ...

'', April 1917, pp. 415–18, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, reprinted at JSTOR, accessed 15 July 2010 (subscription required).

Early life

Fleet was born to John George Fleet, a London wholesale sugar dealer, and Esther Faithfull of

Headley, Surrey Headley is a village and civil parish in the North Downs in Surrey, England. The nearest settlements are, to the west, Mickleham and Leatherhead; to the north, Ashtead and Langley Vale; to the east, Walton-on-the-Hill; and to the south, Box ...

, England, in 1847. He was educated at the Merchant Taylors' School in London. His five brothers included

Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Henry Louis Fleet (born 1851-1923),

Rutland Barrington Rutland Barrington (15 January 1853 – 31 May 1922) was an English singer, actor, comedian and Edwardian musical comedy star. Best remembered for originating the lyric baritone roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1877 to 1896, his p ...

(1853–1922), a star in

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

operas, and actor Duncan Fleet (born 1860, date of death unknown). He also had two sisters. His aunt,

Emily Faithfull Emily Faithfull (27 May 1835 – 31 May 1895) was an English women's rights activist who set up the Victoria Press to publish the ''English Woman's Journal''. Biography Emily Faithfull was born on 27 May 1835 at Headley Rectory, Surrey. She ...

, was an activist and dramatic reader.

Early career and interests

Fleet was appointed to the

(ICS) in the year 1865, and to prepare himself for this, he studied

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. In 1867, he moved to the Bombay Presidency (then a British province in western India) and soon held the posts of Assistant Collector and then Magistrate, Educational Inspector, in the Southern Division (1872), Assistant Political Agent in

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...

and the Southern Maratha Country (1875), and Collector and Magistrate (1882). Meanwhile, he continued with his interest in Sanskrit and the inscriptions that were abundant on stone and copper plate in the Bombay Presidency. He began publishing articles about the inscriptions in the mid-1860s. His studies soon led him to study another language,

, both in its ancient and modern forms.

Eminence

Fleet was soon establishing a reputation through his papers on the epigraphy and history of Southern India in fora such as the Bombay Asiatic Society and ''

The Indian Antiquary ''The Indian Antiquary: A journal of oriental research in archaeology, history, literature, language, philosophy, religion, folklore, &c, &c'' (subtitle varies) was a journal of original research relating to India, published between 1872 and 19 ...

'', founded in 1872 (he later edited it from the 14th to 20th editions (1885–92)). He also published his works on the ''Pali, Sanskrit and old Canarese Inscriptions'' for the

India Office The India Office was a British government department in London established in 1858 to oversee the administration of the Provinces of India, through the British viceroy and other officials. The administered territories comprised most of the mo ...

in 1878. Fleet became the first epigraphist of the Government of India when such a post was created in 1883. After three years as the epigraphist, he was appointed as the Collector and Magistrate of Sholapur in 1886. One of his greatest works was on the hitherto uncharted

Gupta Gupta () is a common surname of Indian origin, meaning "guardian" or "protector". Origins and distribution The name is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means "guardian" or "protector". According to historian ...

period. ''The Inscriptions of The Early Gupta Kings and their Successors'' (1889), forming the third volume of the ''Corpus Inscriptionarum Indicum'', was a well-regarded example of his scholarship. Meanwhile, his civil service career progressed. He was appointed the Senior Collector in 1889, Commissioner of the Southern Divisions in 1891, and also Central Divisions in 1892. He was made the Commissioner of Customs in 1893. In 1895, the best of his works, ''The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of The Bombay Presidency from the earliest historical times to the Musalman Conquest'', was published in the ''

Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency ''Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency'' is a publication of the erstwhile British India first published in the year 1884 and printed at the Government Central Press, Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1884. Since the early 19th Century the English East India ...

''. It was a synthesis of all the data that he had collected over the years through epigraphic and historical sources in his areas of interest. The work deals with a number of dynasties, from the Kadambas, Gangas of

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

and

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, and Latas, to the

Chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

Rashtrakuta The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their rule from Manapu ...

s, and

Seuna The Seuna, Sevuna, or Yadavas of Devagiri (IAST: Seuṇa, –1317) was a medieval Indian dynasty, which at its peak ruled a realm stretching from the Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south, in the western part of the ...

s. The work formed a basis for further studies of the periods covered by these dynasties.

Retirement and death

Fleet retired from the ICS in 1897 and returned to England to settle in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

. He was now able to devote his full time to his epigraphical studies and continued with his valuable contributions to the

Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...

and ''

Epigraphia Indica ''Epigraphia Indica'' was the official publication of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 1882 to 1977. The first volume was edited by James Burgess in the year 1882. Between 1892 and 1920 it was published as a quarterly supplement to ...

''. In 1906, he became the Honorary Secretary of the Society and was awarded its "gold medal" in 1912. Before his death in 1917 at age 69, he published the ''Ballads of the Peasantry'' with its music in the ''

Indian Antiquary ''The Indian Antiquary: A journal of oriental research in archaeology, history, literature, language, philosophy, religion, folklore, &c, &c'' (subtitle varies) was a journal of original research relating to India, published between 1872 and 19 ...

''.

Fellowships

* Hon' Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. * Member, Bombay Branch of The Royal Asiatic Society. * Member of 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 ...

. * Corresponding Member of The Royal Society of Science, Göttingen. * Fellow of The University of Bombay.Fleet (1894), pp. 4–5

Notes

References

*Fleet, J. F. "'The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of the Bombay Presidency" (1894), ''Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency'' (Vol-1, Part-II, Book-III)

External links

Biographical sketch of Fleet
in ''Eminent orientalists, Indian, European, American'' (1922, reprinted 1991) *Fleet, J. F
"Sanskrit and Old Canarese Inscriptions"
in ''Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society'' (1876) *Fleet, J. F
''The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of The Bombay Presidency from the earliest historical times to the Musalman Conquest'' (1882)
*Fleet, J. F
''Indian Epigraphy'' (1907)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleet, John Faithfull Indian Civil Service (British India) officers 1847 births 1917 deaths Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Alumni of University College London