Sir Robert Grant
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sir Robert Grant GCH (1779 – 9 July 1838) was an
Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority group, minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Angl ...
lawyer and politician. He was born in Bengal, India in 1779. His family relocated to England in 1790. He studied law at
Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...
, and in 1807 passed the bar. He became a Commissioner in Bankruptcy. Between 1818 and 1832, he was an elected member of Parliament for several different
Burghs A burgh ( ) is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was bro ...
. On 11, August 1829, in
Inverness-shire Inverness-shire () or the County of Inverness, is a Counties of Scotland, historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and s ...
Grant married Margaret Davidson, daughter of Sir David Davidson. They had four children, two daughters and two sons. Grant died in Dapodi, in Poona, India in 1838.


Life

Robert Grant was born in India, the second son of
Charles Grant Charles or Charlie Grant may refer to: Arts and entertainment * C.J. Grant (Charles Jameson Grant, ), American editorial cartoonist * Charles L. Grant (1942–2006), American novelist * Charles Grant (actor) (born 1957), American actor * Charles G ...
, chairman of the Directors of the
Honourable 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 younger brother of Charles Grant, later Lord Glenelg. After arriving in Britain with their father in 1790, the two brothers were entered as students of
Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...
, in 1795. In 1801 Charles was fourth wrangler and senior Chancellor's medallist; Robert was third wrangler and second Chancellor's medallist. Grant was
called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
the same day as his brother, 30 January 1807, and entered into legal practice, becoming King's Sergeant in the Court of the
Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...
, and one of the Commissioners in Bankruptcy. He was elected Member of Parliament for the Elgin Burghs in 1818, and for the Inverness Burghs in 1826. The latter constituency he represented for four years. In 1830 and 1831, he was returned for
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
, and in 1832 for
Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the southeastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manorialism, Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man c ...
. He advocated for the removal of the
disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...
of the Jews, and twice carried bills on the subject through the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
. They were, however, rejected in the
Upper House An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...
, which did not yield on the question until 1858, twenty years after Grant's death. In 1832 he became Judge Advocate General, and in 1834 was appointed
Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...
. As governor, Grant was a law unto himself and under his rule a multitude of large-scale projects were pushed forward which were to transform the shape of British policy in the East. He was a key player in the decision to occupy Aden, which was carried out shortly after his death. He died at Dapodi, near
Poona Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
on 9 July 1838. His remains are housed in the St. Mary's Church, Poona.


Works

In his younger days, Grant published an essay on the trade and government of India, and a sketch of the early history of the
British 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 ...
. He was the author of a volume of sacred poems, which was edited and published after his death by his brother, Lord Glenelg. This volume includes some hymns; his best known hymn is "O Worship the King", based on Psalm 104. Additional hymns include "Saviour, when in dust to thee" and "Confidence in God."


Legacy

Grant Medical College, the oldest
medical college A medical association or medical college is a trade association that brings together practitioners of a particular geographical area (a country, region, province). In common-law countries, they are often grouped by medical specialties ( cardiolog ...
in
Mumbai, India Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
, is named after Robert Grant, as are Grant Road and Grant Road Station in the same city.


Family

Grant married Margaret, only daughter of Sir David Davidson of Cantray, with issue two sons and two daughters: * Sir Charles Grant, K.C.S.I, formerly a Member of Council in India; * Colonel Robert Grant, R.E., Deputy Adjutant General; * Sibylla Sophia, married to Granville Ryder, Esq.; and * Constance Charemile, who died in childhood. Ten years after his death, Margaret married Josceline Percy, second son of the Earl of Beverley, with issue one son, George Algernon, born in 1849, who later became Capt. and Lt. Col. of the
Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...
.


References

Attribution


External links


"Note B: The Anglo-Indian Grants: Charles Grant", Appendix, The Northern Highlands in the Nineteenth Century, Electric Scotland
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Robert Governors of Bombay UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge 1779 births 1838 deaths British Christian hymnwriters Scottish Episcopalians Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom West Bengal politicians Politicians from Pune Politicians from Mumbai British people in colonial India