Vincent Arthur Smith

For other people named Vincent Smith, see Vincent Smith.

Vincent Arthur Smith
The Early History of India by Vincent Arthur Smith, 1914
Born(1843-06-03)3 June 1843
Dublin, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Died6 February 1920(1920-02-06) (aged 76)[1]
Oxford
Occupation(s)Indologist, art historian

Vincent Arthur Smith CIE (3 June 1843 – 6 February 1920) was an Irish Indologist, historian, member of the Indian Civil Service, and curator. He was one of the prominent figures in Indian historiography during the British Raj.[2]

In the 1890s, he was key to exposing the forgeries of Alois Anton Führer, then working for the Archaeological Survey of India, who Smith caught in the act of making fake inscriptions.[3][4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference obit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Ahir, Rajiv (2018). A Brief History of Modern India. Spectrum Books (P) Limited. p. 14. ISBN 978-81-7930-688-8.
  3. ^ Dhammika, Shravasti (2008). Middle Land, Middle Way: A Pilgrim's Guide to the Buddha's India. Buddhist Publication Society. p. 41. ISBN 978-955-24-0197-8.
  4. ^ "Fuhrer's attempt to associate the names of eighteen Sakyas, including Mahanaman, with the structures, on the false claim of writings in pre-Asokan characters, was fortunately foiled in time by V.A. Smith, who paid a surprise visit when the excavation was in progress. The forgery was exposed to the public." in East and West. Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente. 1979. p. 66.