James Kyd (1786 – 26 October 1836) was a Master ship builder of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

, India.

Life

James Kyd was born in 1786 in India to Major Alexander Kyd, a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and the Surveyor General of Bengal and his brother is

Robert Kyd The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, a British Army officer. Kyd went to Great Britain to learn shipbuilding and returned to India in 1800 to work as an apprentice to A. Wadell. He succeeded Wadell in 1807 to become the Master ship builder of the East India Company in Calcutta (now, Kolkata). Kyd built various steamers and yachts for the Bengal government and other countries for personal and trading purposes. A collection of few are given below: In 1814, the Admiralty and Court of Directors sent honors and appreciative testimonial to Kyd for the repair work done to ''HMS Semiramis'' at

St. Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...

. Most of the ships were launched from the Kidderpore docks. He died on 26 October 1836 due to a knee injury, and was interred at the Scotch Burial Ground.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyd, James 1786 births 1836 deaths Indian shipbuilders