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Arthur Anthony Macdonell,
FBA (11 May 1854 – 28 December 1930) was a noted
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
scholar.
Biography
Macdonell was born at
Muzaffarpur
Muzaffarpur () is a city located in Muzaffarpur district in the Tirhut region of the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Tirhut division, the Muzaffarpur district and the Muzaffarpur Railway District. It is the fourth m ...
in the
Tirhut
Mithila (), also known as Tirhut, Tirabhukti and Mithilanchal is a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothill ...
region of the state of
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, the son of Charles Alexander Macdonell, of the Indian Army. He was educated at
Göttingen University
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911.
General information
The orig ...
, then matriculated in 1876 at
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...
, gaining a classical exhibition and three scholarships (for German, Chinese, and the
Boden Scholarship
The Boden Scholarship at the University of Oxford was established in 1833 to support students learning Sanskrit.
History and scholars
Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Boden, after whom the scholarship is named, served in the Bombay Native Infantry of the ...
for Sanskrit). He graduated with classical honours in 1880 and was appointed
Taylorian
The Taylor Institution (commonly known as the Taylorian) is the Oxford University library dedicated to the study of the languages of Europe. Its building also includes lecture rooms used by the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, Univer ...
Teacher of German (language) at Oxford. In 1883 he obtained his PhD from the
University of Leipzig
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
, and then became Deputy Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford in 1888, and
Boden Professor of Sanskrit
The position of Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford was established in 1832 with money bequeathed to the university by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Boden, a retired soldier in the service of the East India Company. He wished the ...
in 1899 (a post that carried with it a
fellowship
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
of
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...
).
Macdonell edited various Sanskrit texts, wrote a
grammar
In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...
,
compiled a dictionary, and published a Vedic grammar, a Vedic Reader, and a work on
Vedic mythology
The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subco ...
; he also wrote a history of Sanskrit.
Selected works
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References
External links
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Sanskrit Grammar by Arthur Anthony Macdonell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonnell, Arthur Anthony
1854 births
1930 deaths
British Indologists
Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford
Boden Professors of Sanskrit
Chess historians
Sanskrit scholars from Uttar Pradesh
People from Muzaffarpur
Fellows of the British Academy