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 Dictionary of Indian Biography (Buckland) |
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 Dictionary of Indian Biography J to L
| Date transcribed | 2011-05-01 | | 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 | Kyd | | | First Name(s) | Robert | | | Year of Birth | 1746 | | | Year of Death | 1793 | | | Entry | Colonel : of an old Forfarshire family : Cadet and Ensign Bengal Engineers, 1764 : Lt-Colonel, 1782 : Military Secretary to Government, when, in 1786, he proposed to the acting Governor-General, Sir John Macpherson, the formation of a Botanic Garden at Calcutta for the growth of teak timber for ship-building, the cultivation of spices, e.g. cinnamon, the introduction of cotton, tobacco, coffee, tea and other commercial products. The Governor- General supported the scheme, which, in 1787, received the most hearty approbation of the Court of Directors. Kyd's country house and garden were at Sibpur, Howrah, near Shalimar Point. For the Botanic Garden he selected 300 acres contiguous to his property : was Honorary Superintendent of the garden until his death. The area was reduced to 270 acres, in 1820, when teak-growing had been found impossible, and the area devoted to it was given up for the Bishop's College. Colonel Robert Kyd died May 26, 1793, bequeathing the bulk of his property to Major (afterwards Lt-General, died Nov. 25, 1826) Alexander Kyd, son of Capt. James Kyd, R.N., and father of James {q.v.), Robert, and Alexander Kyd. A beautiful marble urn, by Banks the sculptor, was erected in 1795 to the memory of Col. Robert Kyd, in the Botanic Garden, on a site selected by Dr. Roxburgh, his successor. |
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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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