Description
India, Calcutta, Fort William College Honorary Prize Medal AV medal early 19th c. (44mm; 46.49gm),
Mosque and pagoda with ship sailing between, REDIT A NOBIS AVRONA DIEMQUE REDUCIT, Dawn fades away from us and leads in the day, rev. A wreath enclosing legend, HONORARY MEDAL, COLLEGE OF FORT WILLIAM JUNE 30 MDCCCXV (Pud 800.1).
Extremely Fine with traces of original
lustre.
Lord Wellesley, Governor-general of India foresaw the need to provide further education to the young men appointed to service in the East India Company. He founded the college of Fort William in Calcutta in 1800 and courses of three years were set up in Indian history, law and oriental languages. There then followed some dispute with the East India Company as to whether such a college should have been situated in India or Britain. A few years later the latter location won out and the result was the foundation of Haileybury in Hertfordshire in 1806. Fort William College in Calcutta continued on until 1854 but greatly reduced in size and only as a school for oriental languages serving the Bengal Presidency.
