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 Dictionary of Indian Biography (Buckland) |
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 Dictionary of Indian Biography M to R
| Date transcribed | 2011-08-00 | | Transcribed by | Peter Bailey | | Comment | Note that notables of Indian, Afghan, etc. origin do not always follow the alphabetical name patterns established by Buckland in his original work. |
| | Surname | Napier | | | First Name(s) | Robert Cornelis | | | Titles, Honours, etc. | First Baron of Magdala and Caryngton, | | | Birth Year | 1810 | | | Death Year | 1890 | | | Entry | Field Marshal: son of Major Charles Frederick Napier, R.A. : born in Ceylon, Dec. 6, 1810 : educated at Addiscombe : joined the Bengal Engineers at Calcutta, 1828 : employed on the E. Jumna Canal irrigation works, 1831 : in Europe studied engineering and railway works 1836-9 : laid out the settlement of Darjeeling and made the road thither, 1839-42 : laid out the cantonment at Umbala, 1842 : in the Satlaj campaign of 1845-6 : at Mudki and Firozshahr : severely wounded : at Sobraon : Major : took the hill fort of Kangra, 1846 : Engineer to the Resident at Lahore : directed the siege of Multan in the Panjab campaign, 1848 : at its capture : at Surajkund, Cheniote, the pursuit of the Sikhs and Afghans : Brevet- Lt-Colonel : Civil Engineer to the Panjab Board of Administration, 1849 : executed great public works, roads, canals, and buildings, bridges, frontier defences : served in frontier expeditions, 1852-3: Chief Engineer to the Chief Commissioner of the Panjab till 1856 : Lt-Colonel, 1856 : in 1857 was Chief of the Staff to Outram (q.v.), at the relief of Lucknow, Sep. 25, and the actions before and after : severely wounded at the second relief by Sir Colin Campbell : Brig-General at the capture of Lucknow in March, 1858 : C.B. : second in command to Sir Hugh Rose at Gwalior : defeated Tantia Topi at Jaora Alipur : routed Firozshah in Dec. 1858 : destroyed the Parone forts, and suppressed the mutiny in Central India : K.C.B. : commanded a Division in China, 1860 : Maj-General, 1861 : Military Member of the Supreme Council, Feb. 1861, to March, 1865 : acted as Viceroy and Governor-General, Nov. 21- Dec. 2, 1863 : C. in C. at Bombay, 1865-9, during which time he commanded the Abyssinian expedition, 1867-8 : made a Peer : G.C.B : G.C.S.I., 1868 : D.C.L. of Oxford : F.R.S., 1869 : C. in C. in India, April 1870 -April 1876 : Governor of Gibraltar, 1876-83 : Field Marshal, 1883 : Constable of the Tower, 1886 : he died Jan. 14, 1890 : buried at St. Paul's Cathedral : statues of him are in Calcutta and London : besides his distinction as an engineer and a soldier, he was highly cultured, with a knowledge of art and poetry : and was remarkable for his attractive personal qualities. |
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A List of eminent persons who served in British India, together with short biographical notes of each
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