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<p>Dr. Francis Buchanan (afterwards Hamilton) was one of the greatest Scotsmen who served the East India Company at the end of the eighteenth century and at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Joining the Bengal Presidency in 1794 as an Assistant Surgeon his exceptional aptitude for botanical zoological and other scientific research led to his employment on important missions to Burma Mysore and Nepal and when in 1807 the Court of Directors decided to have a ‘statistical survey’ of the then Bengal Presidency carried out this gigantic task was assigned to him. For nearly eight years he toiled incessantly completing the survey of the Northern most Bengal districts (including parts of the Lower Assam) and the districts that now form the Bhagalpur and Patna divisions in Bihar and Orissa as well as the present Gorakhpur district in the United Provinces covering in all an area nearly as large as that of England. Some extracts from the voluminous manuscripts were printed from time to time across various journals but it is most regrettable that no steps were taken by the Company to publish the whole under Buchanan’s own supervision while he was still alive. In 1838 nine years after his death Mr. Montgomery Martin who had been permitted by the Directors to ‘collate’ the manuscripts published such portions of Buchanan’s records as appeared to him to be of interest under the title The History Antiquities Topography and Statistics of Eastern India with his own name on the titlepage. About the Author Francis BuchananHamilton entered the service of the East India Company in the Bengal Presidency in 1794. His wideranging interest in botanical knowledge and his aptitude for other sciences such as zoology and geology combined with rare strengths of methodology and accurate observation at once marked him as fit for special duties. He distinguished himself by his inquiries related to botany and geography. He also engaged in the study of the Gangetic fishes and then in botanical research around the Chittagong area. In 1807 the Court of Directors appointed him to oversee a detailed statistical survey plan of the then Bengal Presidency. Ananda Bhattacharyya is a retired Assistant Director West Bengal State Archives Kolkata Government of West Bengal.</p>
