Robert Caldwell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 7 May 1814 |
| Died | 28 August 1891 (aged 77) |
| Resting place | Idaiyangudi, Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Citizenship | British |
| Occupation(s) | Missionary, Linguist |
| Known for | Bishop in South India |
| Spouse |
Eliza mault (m. 1844) |
Robert Caldwell (7 May 1814 – 28 August 1891) was a British missionary and linguist.
A missionary for the London Missionary Society, he arrived in British India at age 24, and studied the local language to spread the word of the Bible in a vernacular language, studies that led him to author a text on comparative grammar of the South Indian languages. In his book, Caldwell proposed that there are Dravidian words in the Hebrew of the Old Testament, the archaic Greek language, and the places named by Ptolemy.[1]
Caldwell married Eliza Mault, the daughter of another missionary Rev. Charles Mault posted in India. He served as assistant bishop of Tirunelveli from 1877.[2]
The Government of Tamil Nadu has created a memorial in his honor and a postage stamp has been issued in his name.[3][4] A statue of Caldwell was erected in 1967 near to Marina Beach, Chennai, as a gift of the Church of South India.
- ^ Robert Caldwell (1856). A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Or South-Indian Family of Languages. Asian Educational Services (Reprint of 1913 3rd-edition revised by Reverend J.L. Wyatt and T Ramakrishna Pillai). pp. 88–105. ISBN 978-81-206-0117-8.
- ^ Carlyle 1901.
- ^ "Minister visits Bishop Caldwell's house". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 24 February 2010. Archived from the original on 26 February 2010.
- ^ Robert Caldwell Stamps of India Retrieved 8 November 2010