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Dictionary of Indian Biography (Buckland)

Dictionary of Indian Biography D to F

Data table details
Date transcribed	2011-03-01
Transcribed by	Peter Bailey
Comment	Note that notables of Indian, Afghan, etc. origin do not always follow the alphabetical name pattern established by Buckland in his original work.

	Surname	Elgin And Kincardine
	First Name(s)	James Bruce
	Titles	Eighth Earl Of
	Year of Birth	1811
	Year of Death	1863
	Entry	(Twelfth Earl of Kincardine) : born July 20, 1811 : educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford : Fellow of Merton College, 1832 : M.P. for Southampton, 1841 : succeeded his father in 1841 : was made Governor of Jamaica, 1842, and, in 1846, Governor-General of Canada�an appointment fraught with difficulties�which he retained till 1854 : for his services he was raised to the English peerage. In 1857 he was sent to China as special envoy : on his way there, he, at Lord Canning's request, diverted to India, troops intended for China, which were urgently required for the suppression of the Indian mutiny. He made the Tientsin Treaty with China, securing several important objects. In 1859 he became Postmater-General in Lord Palmerston's Government. In 1860 he was again sent to China to obtain the ratification of the Tientsin treaty, which had not been carried out. He destroyed the Summer Palace, as a punishment for Chinese treachery and the murder of Englishmen. In Jan., 1862, he went to India as Viceroy, arriving at Calcutta in March. After spending the summer at Simla in 1863, he proceeded on tour in Upper India. He died of heart complaint, brought on by over-exertion, at Dharmsala on Nov. 20, 1863, and was there buried.

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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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