Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College ( ur, Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind, italics=yes) was founded in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, initially as a primary school, with the intention of taking it to a college level institution, known as Muhammedan Anglo Oriental Collegiate School. It started operations on Queen Victoria's 56th birthday, 24 May 1875.
History
It was established as ''Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind'' in 1875, and after two years it became ''Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College''. The statesman Syed Ahmad Khan founded the predecessor of
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...
, the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College, in 1875 having already established two schools. These were part of the movement of Muslim awakening associated with Syed Ahmad Khan which came to be known as Aligarh Movement. He considered competence in English and "Western sciences" necessary skills for maintaining Muslims' political influence, especially in Northern India. Khan's image for the college was based on his visit to Oxford and Cambridge and he wanted to establish an education system similar to the British model.
Sir Syed nursed the institution at a time when English education was a taboo. Intermediate classes were started in 1878, and in 1881 B.A. degree classes were added. In 1881, a civil service preparatory class was started for aspiring students. In 1887, it began to prepare students to enter
Thomason College of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (abbreviated IIT Roorkee) is a technical university located in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. It is the oldest engineering institution in India, and was founded as the College of Civil Engineering in Bri ...
at Roorkee.
In the beginning, the college was affiliated with the University of Calcutta for the matriculation examination but became an affiliate of Allahabad University in 1885. In 1877, the school was raised to college level and
Robert Bulwer-Lytton
Edward Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton, (8 November 183124 November 1891) was an English statesman, Conservative politician and poet who used the pseudonym Owen Meredith. He served as Viceroy of India between 1876 and 1880durin ...
, 1st Earl of Lytton
The college also published a magazine by its name.
Sir Syed said that their intention was to establish a university. It was the predecessor of
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...
.
Principals
The former Principals of the college were.
*
Henry George Impey Siddons
Henry George Impey Siddons (1851 – 18 September 1936) was an Indian educationist. He was born in Indore, India and died on 18 September 1936 at Bath, Somerset, England.
Career
Siddons was educated at the Oxford University and then he returned ...
(1877–1884)
*
Theodore Beck
Theodore Beck (4 July 1859 – 2 September 1899Buckland, C. E., ''Dictionary of Indian biography'', 1906) was a Quaker and British educationalist working for the British Raj in India. From 1883 until his death in 1899 he was Principal of Muha ...
(1884–1899)
*
Theodore Morison
Sir Theodore Morison (9 May 1863 – 14 February 1936) was a British educationalist who served as a Member of the Council of India and Director of the University of London Institute in Paris. He is best known as an interpreter of Muslim life ...
(1899–1905)
* William Archbold (1905–1909)
* J. H. Towle (1909–1919)
*