St John Thackeray (1778–1824) was a collector and political agent, who was working in south India for

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 ...

during the 1820s.

Early life

St John Thackeray belonged to Madras Civil Service, and was working as a collector and political agent, for Southern Mahratta Doab region of British East India Company.

Attack on Kittur

Background

The Kittur Kingdom, founded in 1585 by one Desai, was ruled by Mallasarja, who was childless, with Kittur Chennamma as the queen. Mallasarja died in 1824, and whether he adopted a boy before his death was a fact contested by St John Thackeray. Holding that the adoption was either false or forged, Thackeray marched to Kittur. Upon arriving, Thackeray sought to administer the territory. He sealed the treasury in an attempt to confiscate its treasure and jewels. Kittur Chennamma protested and closed the gates of the fort. Thackeray gave the order to blow up the gates, and in the meantime, one of Chennamma's soldiers shot Thackeray.

Death

St John Thackeray was killed on 23 October 1824 at Kittur,

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 ...

, when he was waging a war against Kittur Chennamma, the ''Rani'' (Queen) of Kittur. He along with other forces tried to enter the fortified town of Kittur with "inadequate means". First he was shot in the stomach as he rode towards the fort and was later hacked to death by a Kittur swordsman. Amatur Balappa, one of the lieutenants of Kittur Chennamma, was involved in killing Thackeray.

Memorial

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

was constructed at Dharwar in memory of Thackeray.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thackeray, Saint John British East India Company people History of Karnataka Year of birth unknown 1824 deaths 1778 births