John Faithfull Fleet C.I.E (1847 – 21 February 1917) was an English civil servant with the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

and became known as a historian,

epigraphist Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

and linguist. His research in Indian epigraphy and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, conducted in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

over a thirty-year period, is published in books including ''Pali, Sanskrit and Old Canarese Inscriptions'', ''The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of The Bombay Presidency from the earliest historical times to the Musalman Conquest'', and ''The Inscriptions of The Early Gupta Kings and their Successors''. He was a regular contributor to works journals covering Indian history. His published well-regarded works on inscriptions in the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

and

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

languages and on the history of dynasties such as the

Guptas The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...

, Kadambas,

Aulikaras The Aulikaras (Late Brahmi script: ''Au-li-ka-rā''), also referred to as Aulikara dynasty or Olikara dynasty, were an ancient Indian clan from the Maurya era, that emerged into a kingdom between the 4th-century CE and 6th-century CE. They w ...

Chalukyas The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty ...

Rashtrakutas Rashtrakuta ( IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing the ...

and

Seunas The Seuna, Sevuna, or Yadavas of Devagiri (IAST: Seuṇa, –1317) was a Medieval Indian dynasty, which at its peak ruled a kingdom stretching from the Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south, in the western part of t ...

.Barnett, L. D
"Obituary Notice: John Faithfull Fleet, C.I.E."
''

The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland The ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'' is an academic journal which publishes articles on the history, archaeology, literature, language, religion and art of South Asia, the Middle East (together with North Africa and Ethiopia), Central Asi ...

'', April 1917, pp. 415–18, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, reprinted at JSTOR, accessed 15 July 2010 (subscription required).

Early life

Fleet was born to John George Fleet, a London wholesale sugar dealer and Esther Faithfull of Headley, Surrey, England, in 1847. He was educated at the Merchant Taylors' School in London. His five brothers included Vice-Admiral Henry Louis Fleet (born 1851-1923),

Rutland Barrington Rutland Barrington (15 January 1853 – 31 May 1922) was an English singer, actor, comedian and Edwardian musical comedy star. Best remembered for originating the lyric baritone roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1877 to 1896, his p ...

(1853–1922) a star in

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

operas, and actor Duncan Fleet (born 1860, date of death unknown). He also had two sisters. His aunt

Emily Faithfull Emily Faithfull (27 May 1835 – 31 May 1895) was an English women's rights activist who set up the Victoria Press to publish the '' English Woman's Journal''. Biography Emily Faithfull was born on 27 May 1835 at Headley Rectory, Surrey. She w ...

was an activist and dramatic reader.

Early career and interests

Fleet was appointed to the

(ICS) in the year 1865, and to prepare himself for this he studied

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. In 1867, he moved to the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

(then a British province in western India) and soon held the posts of Assistant Collector and then Magistrate, Educational Inspector, in the Southern Division (1872), Assistant Political Agent in

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is ...

and the Southern Maratha Country (1875), and Collector and Magistrate (1882). Meanwhile, he continued with his interest in Sanskrit and the inscriptions that were abundant on stone and copper plate in the Bombay Presidency. He began publishing articles about the inscriptions in the mid-1860s. His studies soon led him to study another language,

, both in its ancient and modern forms.

Eminence

Fleet was soon establishing a reputation through his papers on the epigraphy and history of Southern India in fora such as the Bombay Asiatic Society and ''

The Indian Antiquary ''The Indian Antiquary: A journal of oriental research in archaeology, history, literature, language, philosophy, religion, folklore, &c, &c,'' (subtitle varies) was a journal of original research relating to India, published between 1872 and 1 ...

'', founded in 1872 (he later edited it from the 14th to 20th editions (1885–92)). He also published his works on the ''Pali, Sanskrit and old Canarese Inscriptions'' for the

India Office The India Office was a British government department established in London in 1858 to oversee the administration, through a Viceroy and other officials, of the Provinces of India. These territories comprised most of the modern-day nations of I ...

in 1878. Fleet became the first epigraphist of the Government of India when such a post was created in 1883. After three years as the epigraphist, he was appointed as the Collector and Magistrate of Sholapur in 1886. One of his greatest works was on the hitherto uncharted

Gupta Gupta () is a common surname or last name of Indian origin. It is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means 'guardian' or 'protector'. According to historian R. C. Majumdar, the surname ''Gupta'' was adopted by sev ...

period. ''The Inscriptions of The Early Gupta Kings and their Successors'' (1889), forming third volume of the ''Corpus Inscriptionarum Indicum'', was a well-regarded example of his scholarship. Meanwhile, his civil service career progressed. He was appointed the Senior Collector in 1889, Commissioner of the Southern divisions in 1891, and also Central Divisions in 1892. He was made the Commissioner of Customs in 1893. In 1895, the best of his works, ''The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of The Bombay Presidency from the earliest historical times to the Musalman Conquest'', was published in the '' Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency''. It was a synthesis of all the data that he had collected over years through epigraphic and historical sources in his areas of interest. The work deals with a number of dynasties, from the Kadambas, Gangas of

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...

and

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

, and Latas, to the

Chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynast ...

Rashtrakuta Rashtrakuta ( IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing the ...

s, and

Seuna The Seuna, Sevuna, or Yadavas of Devagiri (IAST: Seuṇa, –1317) was a Medieval Indian dynasty, which at its peak ruled a kingdom stretching from the Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south, in the western part of t ...

s. The work formed a basis for further studies of the periods covered by these dynasties.

Retirement and Death

Fleet retired from the ICS in 1897 and returned to England to settle in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was his ...

. He was now able to devote his full-time to his epigraphical studies and continued with his valuable contributions to the

Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the e ...

and ''

Epigraphia Indica ''Epigraphia Indica'' was the official publication of Archaeological Survey of India from 1882 to 1977. The first volume was edited by James Burgess in the year 1882. Between 1892 and 1920 it was published as a quarterly supplement to '' The Ind ...

''. In 1906, he became the Honorary Secretary of the Society and was awarded its "gold medal" in 1912. Before his death in 1917 at age 69, he published the ''Ballads of the Peasantry'' with its music in the '' Indian Antiquary''.

Fellowships

* Hon' Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. * Member, Bombay Branch of The Royal Asiatic Society. * Member of the

Asiatic Society of Bengal The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the ...

. * Corresponding Member of The Royal Society of Science, Göttingen. * Fellow of

The University of Bombay The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointe ...

.Fleet (1894), pp. 4–5

Notes

References

*Fleet, J. F. "'The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of the Bombay Presidency" (1894), ''Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency'' (Vol-1, Part-II, Book-III)

External links

Biographical sketch of Fleet
in ''Eminent orientalists, Indian, European, American'' (1922, reprinted 1991) *Fleet, J. F
"Sanskrit and Old Canarese Inscriptions"
in ''Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society'' (1876) *Fleet, J. F
''The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of The Bombay Presidency from the earliest historical times to the Musalman Conquest'' (1882)
*Fleet, J. F
''Indian Epigraphy'' (1907)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleet, John Faithfull Indian Civil Service (British India) officers 1847 births 1917 deaths Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Alumni of University College London