Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century: Some Contemporary European Accounts c27.9

c27.9

WALKER, Alexander (1764-1831), brigadier-general, author of Chapter XII, was born on 12th May 1764. He was appointed a cadet in the service of the East India Company in 1780. He took part in the last war against Tippoo, and was present at the battle of Seedaseer in 1799 and at the siege of Seringapatam. In June 1802, Walker was appointed as Political Resident at Baroda. He returned to England in 1810 and in 1822 was called to the Government of St Helena. He died at Edinburgh on 5th March 1831, soon after retiring from the governorship of St Helena. While in India Walker formed a valuable collection of Arabic, Persian, and Sanscrit manuscripts, which was presented by his son, Sir William in 1845 to the Bodleian, Oxford, where it forms a distinct collection. His voluminous papers in English are in the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh.