LolitaErurf at 13:41, 13 February 2026

2026-02-13T13:41:18Z

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{{Short description|First Bengali Sheriff of Kolkata, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2010}}

{{Infobox person
| name = Raja Digambar Mitra<br />রাজা দিগম্বর মিত্র
| image = Digambar Mitra.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = 1817
| birth_place = [[Konnagar]], [[Hooghly district]], [[Bengal Presidency]],<ref name="samsad199">''Samsad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Biographical dictionary)'', (in Bengali), Subodh Chandra Sengupta and Anjali Bose (Editors), Sahitya Samsad, Calcutta, 1976, p. 199</ref> [[British India]]
| death_date = 20 April 1879 (aged 62)
| death_place = [[Calcutta]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]
| occupation = Teacher, financier, evangelist
| spouse =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}

[[Raja]] '''Digambar Mitra''' (1817–1879) was an Indian businessman. He as one of the leading [[Young Bengal|Derozians]] and first [[Bengali people|Bengali]] [[Sheriff of Kolkata]].<ref name=Samsad>Samsad Bangali Charitabhidhan by Anjali Bose, p. 204, {{ISBN|81-85626-65-0}}</ref>

==Birth and Ancestry==

Babu Digambar Mitra, later known as '''Raja Digambar Mitra''', was born in 1817 at [[Konnagar]] in the district of [[Hooghly district|Hooghly]] of present-day [[West Bengal]] into a [[Bengali Kayastha|Kulin Kayastha]] family.<ref name="samsad199"/><ref name="mitra">{{cite book|last=Chunder|first=Bholanauth|title=Raja Digambar Mitra, C.S.I.: His Life and Career|date=1893|publisher=Hare Press|location=Calcutta|page=2 & 3}}</ref>

This wealthy and respectable family of [[Konnagar]] was locally known as the ''Mandir-Bati-Mitra'' family. Raja Digambar Mitra's grandfather ''Ram Chandra Mitra'' was a cashier in a [[Calcutta]] based mercantile firm. He had three sons namely ''Shib Chandra Mitra'', ''Shambhu Chandra Mitra'' and ''Raj Krishna Mitra'', ''Shib Chandra'' being the eldest among all of the three. All of them were employed in the same firm as their father. ''Shib Chandra Mitra'' had two sons. His eldest son was ''Raja Digambar Mitra''. In the later years, ''Shib Chandra'' bought a house in [[Sovabazar]], [[North Kolkata|North Calcutta]]. ''Raja Digambar Mitra'' spend his childhood at [[Calcutta]].<ref name="chunder">{{cite book|last=Chunder|first=Bholanauth|title=Raja Digambar Mitra, C.S.I.: His Life and Career|date=1893|publisher=Hare Press|location=Calcutta|pages=3–6}}</ref>

==Life==
The son of Shib Chandra Mitra of [[Konnagar]] in [[Hooghly district]] of present-day [[West Bengal]],<ref name="samsad199"/> he was educated at [[Hare School]] and [[Presidency College, Kolkata|Hindu College]] and was one of the leading disciples of [[Henry Louis Vivian Derozio]].<ref name=Samsad/>

After finishing his education in 1834, he shifted to [[Murshidabad]] to work as a teacher. After leaving that job, he worked as head clerk under the District Magistrate and Collector of [[Rajshahi]]. Unhappy with his job, he returned to Murshidabad and worked as a tehsildar for the [[East India Company]]. In 1838, he was appointed as the estate manager of [[Cossimbazar]] Raj. As manager of the Cossimbazar Raj, he was awarded one lakh rupees for his innovative efforts by Raja Krishnanath of Cossimbazar. He invested the money in cotton, indigo business, and share market which made him rich and he became a zamindar.<ref name=Samsad/>

An orthodox person he opposed the introduction of widow remarriage.<ref name=Samsad/>

He was awarded [[Companion of the Order of the Star of India|CSI]] in 1876 and made Raja in 1877.<ref>{{cite book|title=Dictionary of Indian Biography|page=292}}</ref>

One of his grandsons was the illustrious Kumar Manmatha Nath Mitra Rai Bahadur of [[Shyampukur]], well known for his extensive knowledge of European fine art and precious gemstones, and the trading in these items. Shyampukur Rajbati once housed the largest Bohemian crystal chandelier in Calcutta.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitra, Digambar}}
[[Category:1817 births]]
[[Category:1879 deaths]]
[[Category:Hare School alumni]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Sheriffs of Kolkata]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:People from the Bengal Presidency]]

{{India-business-bio-stub}}

Digambar Mitra - Revision history

LolitaErurf at 13:41, 13 February 2026