Raja Gopi Mohan Tagore (1760–1819) was scion of the Pathuriaghata Tagore family and noted

zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...

and philanthropist from

Bengal region Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. He was son of

Darpanarayan Tagore Darpanarayan Tagore (1731–1793) was a member of the Tagore family, who branched to Pathuriaghata. He worked as dewan to the French East India Company at Chandannagar before moving to Calcutta. He later became a merchant to Edward Wheeler, who s ...

, who branched and founded

Pathuriaghata Pathuriaghata is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is one of the oldest residential areas in what was Sutanuti. Once the abode of the Bengali rich, the neighbourhood and its surrounding ...

branch of Tagore family. He knew Sanskrit, French, Portuguese, English, Persian and Urdu languages. Gopi Mohan Tagore was well known for his wealth and in 1812, made what may be the largest ever gift of gold to the

Kali temple Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tradi ...

Kalighat Kalighat is a locality of Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. One of the oldest neighbourhoods in South Kolkata, Kalighat is also densely populated — with a history of cultural intermingling with the various foreign incursions i ...

. He was one of the founders of

Presidency College, Kolkata Presidency University, Kolkata (formerly known as Presidency College, Kolkata) is a second major public state aided research university located in College Street, Kolkata. Considered as one of best colleges when Presidency College was affili ...

, the institution that initiated western education in the country. He was fluent in English, and familiar with French, Portuguese, Sanskrit, Persian and Urdu, apart from Bengali. His donation for founding of Presidency College later known as Hindu College was second largest, next only to Maharaja of Burdwan and a marble tablet was erected of him in Library Hall of College to commemorate it. He was later appointed Governor of Hindu College and instituted a scholarship in his name for the eligible students. Goopi Mohan celebrated Durga Pujo with grandeur and many Europeans including General Wellesly attended the festival and dinner hosted by him. He was a great patron of art, music,

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 ...

learning and athletic sports and used to donate generously for this purpose. The famous wrestler, Radha Gowla, was in his pay role. Among others in his pensioners were Lakhi Kanta, the noted Bengali lyricist and Kali Mirza, the noted singer of that time. He was a close friend of Raja Raj Krishna Deb of Sovabazar Raj. He once assisted father of Raja Baroda Kanta Roy of

Jessore Jessore ( bn, যশোর, jôshor, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District situated in Khulna Division. It is situated in the south-western part of Bangladesh. It is the administrative centre (headquarter) of the eponymous district ...

. He had begun the Tagore family's art collection with the assistance of the British artist

George Chinnery George Chinnery (; 5 January 1774 – 30 May 1852) was an English painter who spent most of his life in Asia, especially India and southern China. Early life Chinnery was born in London, where he studied at the Royal Academy Schools. ...

, who had visited Calcutta in 1803.,''Prodyot Coomar Tagore, Catalogue of the Pictures and Sculptures in the Collection of the Maharajah Tagore'', Thacker, Spink Calcutta, 1905. which was later expanded by his great-grandson,

Prodyot Coomar Tagore Maharaja Bahadur Sir Prodyot Coomar Tagore Order of the Indian Empire, KCIE (17 September 1873 – 28 August 1942) was a leading land owner, philanthropist, art collector, and photographer in Kolkata, India. He belonged to the Pathuriaghata branch ...

. He was the founder of Shyamnagar Mulajore Kali Temple at Shyamnagar. He founded it in mid May 1802. He had six sons and a daughter. Surji Kumar, Chandra Kumar, Nanda Kumar, Kali Kumar, Hara Kumar and Prassana Kumar., of which Hara Kumar Tagore and

Prasanna Kumar Tagore Prasanna may refer to: People As sole name * Prasanna (actor) (Prasanna Venkatesan, active from 2001), Indian film actor * Prasanna (theatre director) (born 1951), Indian theatre director and playwright * V. V. Prasanna, a Tamil playback singer ...

both of whom carried forward legacy of Tagore family, were noted.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tagore, Gopi Mohan 1760 births 1819 deaths Bengali Hindus 18th-century Bengalis People from Kolkata Bengali zamindars Gopi Mahan 18th-century Indian educators Founders of Indian schools and colleges Indian philanthropists Social workers from West Bengal