Elijah Impey
Sir Elijah Impey | |
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| Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal | |
| In office 22 October 1774[1] – 3 December 1783 (Effectively). Resigned 1 November 1787[2] | |
| Sole Justice of the Sadr Diwani Adalat | |
| In office 24 October 1780[3] – 5 November 1782[4] | |
| Member of Parliament for New Romney | |
| In office 1790–1796 | |
Sir Elijah Impey (13 June 1732 – 1 October 1809) was a British judge, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal,[5] Chief Justice of the Sadr Diwani Adalat and MP for New Romney.
Life
He was born the youngest son of Elijah Impey and his wife Martha, daughter of James Fraser and was educated at Westminster School with Warren Hastings, who was his intimate friend throughout life. He proceeded to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1752, graduating in 1756 as the second Chancellor's classical medallist.[6]
Impey was
En route to India he learned Bengali and Urdu, and once there studied Persian.[9] With his wife Mary (née Reade), from 1777, he hired local artists to paint the various birds, animals and native plants, life-sized where possible, and in natural surrounds. The collection is often known as the Impey Album.[9]
In 1775 he presided at the trial of
In 1790 Impey was returned to Parliament as the member for
In 1795 his application for a fellowship of the Royal Society was rejected.
Legacy
A portrait of Impey, by
His wife,
Further reading
- James Fitzjames Stephen, The Story of Nuncomar and the Impeachment of Sir Elijah Impey (1885).
- Memoirs of Sir Elijah Impey, Knt ... with anecdotes of Warren Hastings, Sir Philip Francis, Nathaniel Brassey Hallhed, Esq., and other contemporaries; (1846)
Sources
References
- ^ Curley p 194
- ^ Curley p 485
- ^ Curley p 313
- ^ Curley p 344
- ^ a b c d Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 342–343.
- ^ "Impey, Elijah (IMY752E)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ "No. 11441". The London Gazette. 19 March 1774. p. 1.
- ^ "No. 11444". The London Gazette. 29 March 1774. p. 4.
- ^ a b c "The forgotten Indian artists of British India". BBC News. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ Levey 2005: 49–59
External links
- The story of Nuncomar and the impeachment of Sir Elijah Impey[permanent dead link] Cornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection. {Reprinted by} Cornell University Library Digital Collections
- Exhibition of "Lady Impey’s Indian Bird Paintings" at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (until 14 Apr 2013)
- "Memoirs of Sir Elijah Impey: Knt., First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature, at Fort William, Bengal; with Anecdotes of Warren Hastings, Sir Philip Francis, Nathaniel Brassey Halhed, Esq., and Other Contemporaries; Comp. from Authentic Documents, in Refutation of the Calumnies of the Right Hon. Thomas Babington Macaulay" (Google eBook), Simpkin, Marshall, and Company, 1846
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