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{{Short description|British Indologist (1786–1860)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Horace Hayman Wilson
| native_name =
| other_names = H. H. Wilson
| image = HoraceHaymanWilson.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1786|09|26|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[London]], Great Britain (present-day [[London]], UK)
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1860|05|08|1786|09|26|df=y}}
| death_place = [[London]], Great Britain
| resting_place = [[Kensal Green Cemetery]]
| spouse = [[Frances Sarah Parr Siddons]] (m. 1829)
| children = 7
| occupation = {{hlist|Translator |Writer |Professor |Lexicographer |Numismatist}}
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works = 𝄪Translations of: ·''Meghduta'' (1813) ·''Vishnu Purana'' (1840) 
𝄪Books: ·''Sanskrit English Dictionary'' (1819) ·''Theatre of the Hindus'' (1820) ·''Lectures on the Religious and Philosophical'' (1840) ·''Systems of the Hindus'' (1840) ·''Ariana Antiqua'' (1841) ·''A Historical Account of the Burmese War'' (1852)
}}
[[File:HoraceWilson.jpg|thumb|Watercolour by [[James Atkinson (Persian scholar)|James Atkinson]], 1821]]
'''Horace Hayman Wilson''' (26 September 1786 – 8 May 1860) was an English [[orientalism|orientalist]] who was elected the first [[Boden Professor of Sanskrit]] at [[Oxford University]].<ref name=WilsonDNB>{{cite DNB|wstitle=Wilson, Horace Hayman|volume=62}}</ref>

==Life==
He studied medicine at [[St Thomas's Hospital]], and went out to [[India]] in 1808 as assistant-surgeon on the [[Bengal]] establishment of the [[British East India Company]]. His knowledge of [[metallurgy]] caused him to be attached to the [[India Government Mint, Kolkata|mint]] at [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], where he was for a time associated with [[John Leyden]].<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Wilson, Horace Hayman|volume=28|pages=692–693}}</ref>

He acted for many years as secretary to the committee of public instruction, and superintended the studies of the [[Sanskrit College]] in Calcutta. He was one of the staunchest opponents of the proposal that English should be made the sole medium of instruction in native schools, and became for a time the object of bitter attacks.<ref name="EB1911"/>

In 1832 [[Oxford University]] selected Wilson to be the first occupant of the newly founded [[Boden Professor of Sanskrit|Boden chair of Sanskrit]]:<ref name="EB1911"/> he had placed a column length advertisement in ''[[The Times]]'' on 6 March 1832 p. 3, giving a list of his achievements and intended activities, along with testimonials, including one from a rival candidate, as to his suitability for the post. In 1836 he was appointed librarian to the East India Company. He also taught<ref>''Men and Events of My Time in India'' by [[Sir Richard Temple, 1st Baronet|Sir Richard Temple]], John Murray, London, 1882 p. 18, [https://archive.org/details/menandeventsmyt00tempgoog/page/n44  accessed 9 Oct 2007]</ref> at the [[East India Company College]]. On 10 April 1834 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London.<ref name="RecordRSL4">{{Cite book |title=The Record of the Royal Society of London for the promotion of Natural Knowledge |date=1940 |publisher=Printed for the Royal Society |edition=Fourth |location=London}}</ref>

On the recommendation of [[Henry Thomas Colebrooke]], Wilson was in 1811 appointed secretary to the [[Asiatic Society of Bengal]]. He was a member of the [[Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta]] and was an original member of the [[Royal Asiatic Society]], of which he was director from 1837 up to the time of his death.<ref name="EB1911"/>

He married Frances Siddons, a grand-daughter of the famous actress [[Sarah Siddons]]<ref name="IMSRoll">{{Cite book |last=Crawford |first=D. G. |title=Roll of the India Medical Service |date=1930 |publisher=W. Thacker & Co. |location=London |page=58}}</ref> through her son George.

Wilson died on 8 May 1860<ref name="RecordRSL4" /> and is buried in [[Kensal Green Cemetery]].

==Works==
Wilson became deeply interested in the ancient language and literature of India, and was the first person to translate the [[Rigveda]] into English. In 1813 he published the [[Sanskrit]] text with a free translation in English rhymed verse of [[Kalidasa]]'s lyrical poem, the ''[[Meghadūta]]'', or Cloud-Messenger.<ref name="EB1911"/><ref>Truebner & Co. (1872) [https://books.google.com/books?id=M2gCAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA26 publisher's catalogue entry for Megha-Duta (The)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016151408/https://books.google.com/books?id=M2gCAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA26 |date=16 October 2023 }}, accessed 9 Oct 2007</ref>

He prepared the first ''Sanskrit–English Dictionary'' (1819) from materials compiled by native scholars, supplemented by his own researches. This work was only superseded by the ''Sanskritwörterbuch'' (1853–1876) of [[Rudolf Roth]] and [[Otto von Böhtlingk]], who expressed their obligations to Wilson in the preface to their great work.<ref name="EB1911"/>

He was interested in [[Ayurveda]] and traditional Indian medical and surgical practices. He compiled the local practices observed for [[cholera]] and [[leprosy]] in his publications in the [[Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta]].<ref>Wilson, H. H. (1825), "Kushta, or leprosy, as known to the Hindus", ''Transactions of the Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta'', 1, 1–44</ref><ref>Wilson, H. H. (1826), "On the native practice in cholera, with remarks", ''Transactions of the Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta'', 2, 282–292</ref>

In 1827 Wilson published ''Select Specimens of the Theatre of the Hindus'', which contained a very full survey of the Indian drama, translations of six complete plays and short accounts of twenty-three others.
His ''Mackenzie Collection'' (1828) is a descriptive catalogue of the extensive collection of Oriental, especially South Indian, manuscripts and antiquities made by Colonel [[Colin Mackenzie]], then deposited partly in the India Office, London (now part of the [[Oriental and India Office Collections]] of the [[British Library]]) and partly at Madras ([[Chennai]]).
He also wrote a ''Historical Sketch of the First Burmese War, with Documents, Political and Geographical'' (1827),
a ''Review of the External Commerce of Bengal from 1813 to 1828'' (1830),
a translation of ''[[Vishnu Purana]]'' (1840), and
a ''History of British India from 1805 to 1835'', (1844–1848) in continuation of [[James Mill]]'s 1818 ''[[The History of British India]]''.<ref name="EB1911"/>

{{clear|left}}

===Publications===
* 1813 {{Internet Archive|dli.granth.37528|at=no|''The Mēgha Dūta; or, Cloud messenger''}} by [[Kālidāsa]] ({{Internet Archive|at=no|b28747860|Revised Second Edition, 1843}})
* 1819 {{Internet Archive|at=no|dli.granth.17218|''A Dictionary, Sanscrit and English''}} ({{Internet Archive|at=no|bub_gb_ki9a-T0OuTQC|Revised Second Edition, 1832}})
* 1827 ''Select Specimens of the Theatre of the Hindus'' {{Internet Archive|selectspecimenso01wils|at=no|Volume 1}}, {{Internet Archive|selectspecimenso02wils|at=no|Volume 2}} (Revised Second Edition, 1835 {{Internet Archive|selectspecimenso01wils_0|at=no|Volume 1}}, {{Internet Archive|selectspecimenso02wils_0|at=no|Volume 2}})
* 1827 {{Internet Archive|at=no|documentsillustr00wils|''Documents Illustrative of the Burmese War''}}
* 1828 {{Internet Archive|at=no|mackenziecollec02wilsgoog|''Mackenzie Collection: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Oriental Manuscripts''}}, co-authored with [[Colin Mackenzie]]
* 1828 [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEhOAQAAMAAJ ''Sketch of the Religious Sects of the Hindus''], in ''Asiatic Researches'', Volume XVI, Calcutta. ({{Internet Archive|at=no|sketchofreligiou00wils|Expanded edition, 1846}})
* 1840 {{Internet Archive|in.ernet.dli.2015.220642|at=no|''The Vishnu Purána: a system of Hindu mythology and tradition''}}
* 1841 ''Travels in the Himalyayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Panjab...'' {{Internet Archive|at=no|travelsinhimala00benggoog|Volume 1}}, {{Internet Archive|at=no|travelsinhimala00trebgoog|Volume 2}}
* 1841 {{Internet Archive|at=no|bub_gb_w3kWAAAAYAAJ|''Ariana Antiqua: A descriptive account of the antiquities and coins of Afghanistan''}}
* 1841 {{Internet Archive|at=no|introductiontogr00wilsrich|''An Introduction to the Grammar of Sanskrit Language for the Use of Early Students''}}
* 1845–48 ''The history of British India from 1805–1835'' {{Internet Archive|at=no|historyofbritish07milliala|Volume 1}}, {{Internet Archive|at=no|historyofbritish08milliala|Volume 2}}, {{Internet Archive|at=no|historyofbritish09mill|Volume 3}}
* 1850–88 ''Rig-veda Sanhitá : a collection of ancient Hindu hymns'' {{Internet Archive|at=no|rigvedasanhitc01wils|Volume 1}}, {{Internet Archive|at=no|rigvedasanhitc02wils|Volume 2}}, {{Internet Archive|at=no|rigvedasanhitc03wils|Volume 3}}, {{Internet Archive|at=no|rigvedasanhitc04wils|Volume 4}}, {{Internet Archive|at=no|rigvedasanhitc05wils|Volume 5}}, {{Internet Archive|at=no|rigvedasanhitc06wils|Volume 6}}
* 1852 {{Internet Archive|at=no|narrativeburmes02wilsgoog|''Narrative of the Burmese war, in 1824–25''}}
* 1855 {{Internet Archive|at=no|glossaryofjudici00wilsuoft|''A glossary of judicial and revenue terms and of useful words occurring in official documents relating to the administration of the government of British India''}}
* 1860 {{Internet Archive|at=no|HinduHistoryOfKashmirHHWilson|''The Hindu History of Kashmir''}}
* 1862–71 Posthumous Collected Edition: ''Works by the Late Horace Hayman Wilson'' {{Internet Archive|worksbylatehorac01wils|at=no|Volume 1: ''Religion of the Hindus'' Vol 1}}, {{Internet Archive|worksbylatehorac02wils|at=no|Volume 2: ''Religion of the Hindus'' Vol 2}}, {{Internet Archive|worksbylatehorac03wils|at=no|Volume 3: ''Essays on Sanskrit Literature'' Vol 1}}, {{Internet Archive|worksbylatehorace04wils|at=no|Volume 4: ''Essays on Sanskrit Literature'' Vol 2}}, {{Internet Archive|worksbylatehorac05wils|at=no|Volume 5: ''Essays on Sanskrit Literature'' Vol 3}}, {{Internet Archive|worksbylatehorace06wils|at=no|Volume 6: ''The Vishnu Purana'' Vol 1}}, {{Internet Archive|worksbylatehorac07wils|at=no|Volume 7: ''The Vishnu Purana'' Vol 2}}, {{Internet Archive|worksbylatehorac08wils|at=no|Volume 8: ''The Vishnu Purana'' Vol 3}}, {{Internet Archive|worksbylatehorace09wils|at=no|Volume 9: ''The Vishnu Purana'' Vol 4}}, {{Internet Archive|worksbylatehorace10wils|at=no|Volume 10: ''The Vishnu Purana'' Vol 5}}, {{Internet Archive|worksbylatehorac11wils|at=no|Volume 11: ''Theatre of the Hindus'' Vol 1}}, {{Internet Archive|worksbylatehorace12wils|at=no|Volume 12: ''Theatre of the Hindus'' Vol 2}}
* ''Principles of Hindu and Mohammedan Law''
* ''Metaphysics of Puranas''

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
{{wikisource|works=or}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Horace Hayman Wilson}}

{{Wikiquote}}

{{Boden Professors}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Horace Hayman}}
[[Category:1786 births]]
[[Category:1860 deaths]]
[[Category:British Indologists]]
[[Category:Sanskrit grammarians]]
[[Category:Sanskrit–English translators]]
[[Category:Boden Professors of Sanskrit]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Royal Asiatic Society]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Royal Numismatic Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery]]
[[Category:19th-century British translators]]
[[Category:Translators of Kalidasa]]
[[Category:Sanskrit College people]]

H. H. Wilson - Revision history

WilmerLassetter at 19:22, 25 December 2025