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James Augustus Hicky
James Augustus Hicky was an Irishman who launched the first printed newspaper in India, ''Hicky's Bengal Gazette''. Early life Hicky was born in Ireland around the year 1740. While young, he moved to London to apprentice with William Faden, a Scottish printer. However, Hicky never took his freedom from the printers' guild, and instead secured a clerkship with an English lawyer, William Davy. At some point Hicky quit his career in law, and, after a brief attempt practicing as a surgeon in London, he boarded an East Indiaman as a surgeon's mate bound for Calcutta in 1772. Upon landing in Calcutta, Hicky practiced as both a surgeon and a merchant, shipping and trading goods along India's coast. But, by 1776, his shipping business collapsed as his vessel returned to port with its cargo badly damaged. Unable to reassure his creditors, Hicky entered debtors' prison in October 1776. While in jail, Hicky acquired a printing press and types and by 1777 began a printing business from j ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hicky's Bengal Gazette
''Hicky's Bengal Gazette or the Original Calcutta General Advertiser'' was an English-language weekly newspaper published in Kolkata (then Calcutta), the capital of British India(then Known as the Presidency of Fort William.. It was the first newspaper printed in Asia, and was published for two years, between 1780 and 1782, before the East India Company seized the newspaper's types and printing press. Founded by James Augustus Hicky, a highly eccentric Irishman who had previously spent two years in jail for debt, the newspaper was a strong critic of the administration of Governor General Warren Hastings. The newspaper was important for its provocative journalism and its fight for free expression in India. Newspaper history Hicky began publication of ''Hicky's Bengal Gazette'' on 29 January 1780, having first printed a prospectus announcing that he would begin printing a newspaper. The idea of printing a newspaper in India had been floated twelve years earlier by the Dutch Adven ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
