Sir Ashley Eden (13 November 1831 – 8 July 1887) was an official and diplomat in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

Background and education

Eden was born at

Hertingfordbury Hertingfordbury is a small village in Hertfordshire, England, close to the county town of Hertford. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. Hertingfordbury is also the name of a neighbouring civil parish, which does not contain the villa ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, the third son of

Robert Eden, 3rd Baron Auckland Robert John Eden, 3rd Baron Auckland (10 July 1799 – 25 April 1870), styled The Honourable Robert Eden from birth until 1849, was a British clergyman. He was Bishop of Sodor and Man from 1847 to 1854 and Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1854 to ...

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...

, by Mary Hurt, daughter of Francis Edward Hurt, of Alderwasley,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. His uncle was

George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, (25 August 1784 – 1 January 1849) was an English people, English Whig (British political faction), Whig politician and colonial administrator. He was thrice First Lord of the Admiralty and also served a ...

. He was educated first at

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

and then at

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, until 1849, in which year he received a nomination to the Indian civil service.

Public life

Eden spent 1850 and 1851 at 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 ...

's college at Haileybury, but did not pass out last of his term until December 1851. In 1852 he reached India, and was first posted as assistant to the magistrate and collector of Rájsháhí. In the year 1854 he was recruited as a sub divisional officer of Jangipur. In 1856 he was promoted to be magistrate at

Moorshedábád Murshidabad (), is a town in the Indian state of West Bengal. This town is the headquarters of Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River. During the 18th century, Murshidabad was a p ...

, and during the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

he checked sympathy with the revolt in that city. In 1860 he was appointed secretary to the government of Bengal and an ''ex officio'' member of the Bengal legislative council. This post he held for eleven years, during the last part of Sir John Peter Grant's lieutenant-governorship, and throughout

Sir Cecil Beadon Sir Cecil Beadon, (1816 – 18 July 1880) was an English administrator in British India, serving as lieutenant-governor of the Bengal Presidency from 1862 to 1866, when he was relieved of the post after a commission of inquiry, which was critic ...

's and

Sir William Grey Sir William Grey (1818 – 15 May 1878) was an English administrator who worked with the East India Company in India and served as lieutenant-governor of Bengal from 1867 when he succeeded Sir Cecil Beadon and later as governor of Jamaica. Biog ...

's terms of office. In 1860 Eden accompanied a force ordered to invade the hill state of

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

in the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

s, as political agent, and in March 1861 he signed the

Treaty of Tumlong A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

with the

raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

Sidkeong Namgyal Sidkeong Namgyal ( Sikkimese: ; Wylie: ''srid skyong rnam rgyal'') (1819–1874) was king of Sikkim from 1863 to 1874. He was son of Tsugphud Namgyal and was succeeded by his half-brother Thutob Namgyal.Rao, P. Raghunadha (1978). ''Sikkim, th ...

, which secured protection to travellers and free trade. This success caused Eden to be appointed special envoy to the hill state of

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

in 1863. He was accompanied by no armed force and his demands were rejected. He signed a treaty favourable to the Bhutiás, after being assaulted by having his hair pulled and face rubbed with wet dough. This treaty was not ratified by the supreme government, and the

Bhutan War The Duar War (or Anglo-Bhutanese War) was a war fought between British Raj, British India and Bhutan in 1864 to 1865. It has been the only military conflict between the two states since 1774. Background Across the nineteenth century, British ...

resulted. In 1871 Eden became the first civilian governor of British

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

, a post he held until his appointment in 1877 as lieutenant-governor of Bengal. The

Eden Mohila College Eden Mohila College (known as Eden College), is a women's college in Azimpur, Dhaka, Azimpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was established in 1873 in the Farashganj area of Dhaka. In 1878 the school was named after Ashley Eden, Lieutenant Governor of Be ...

in Dhaka was named after him in 1878. In 1878 he was made a K.C.S.I., and in 1882 resigned the lieutenant-governorship. After his retirement from India, on being appointed a member of the secretary of state's council in 1882, admirers founded in his honour the Eden Hospital for Women and Children in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, and a statue was erected. The Eden canal joins the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

and the Tistá, and was intended to relieve

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

from famine. Eden returned to England and attended the

Council of India The Council of India (1858 – 1935) was an advisory body to the Secretary of State for India, established in 1858 by the Government of India Act 1858. It was based in London and initially consisted of 15 members. The Council of India was dissolve ...

for the remainder of his life.

Personal life

Eden married Eva Maria Money, daughter of

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 ...

Rowland Money. They had no children. Eden died suddenly of paralysis on 9 July 1887, aged 55.

Notes

References

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Background and education

Public life

Personal life

Notes

References

Further reading