William Francis Thompson (1810–1842) was a British India civil servant, magistrate and philologist who was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and died in

Ghazipur Ghazipur is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh. The city of Ghazipur also constitu ...

, India.

Biography

Thompson attended the

Haileybury and Imperial Service College Haileybury is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) near Hertford in England. It is a member of the Rugby Group and, though originally a major boys' public school in the Victorian era, it is now co-educational, enrol ...

before joining the Bengal Civil Service. He was first appointed as an assistant magistrate in

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The c ...

, and later served in Bundelkhand,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

and Hissar. Taking medical leave in Australia in 1835, he subsequently returned to India where he died in 1842. Thompson is known for his translation of the ''Akhlāq-i Jalālī'', published in 1839 under the title ''Practical Philosophy of the Muhammadan People.'' He was also a poet and published ''India: A Poem, in Three Cantos'', a work critical of British rule in India.A young civilian of Bengal .e. William Francis Thompson ''India: A Poem, in Three Cantos'' (London: John R. Priestley, 1834).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, William Francis British philologists 1810 births 1842 deaths British people in colonial India People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College British poets