J. D. Anderson

James Drummond Anderson (1852 – 24 November 1920) was a member of the Indian Civil Service from 1873 until 1900, and later a lecturer in Bengali at the University of Cambridge. He was a leading authority on Bengali and several other languages.

Life and career

James Drummond Anderson was born in Calcutta in British India. His father James Anderson was a doctor in the service of the East India Company and his mother was Ellen Mary Garstin. He learned to speak Bengali fluently. He was sent to London at age 7. Educated at Cheltenham and Rugby, he passed the prestigious Indian Civil Service (ICS) examination in 1873, obtaining the highest marks among all the candidates for his English essay.

His early service years were spent in Bengal. He was then transferred to Assam, where he was posted in districts, acted as the Inspector-General of Police, and an Assistant Secretary to the Chief Commissioner. In 1894 he returned to Bengal and served first as Collector and then as Commissioner of Chittagong. He returned to England in 1898 and retired from the ICS in 1900.

In 1907, Anderson was appointed teacher of Bengali at the University of Cambridge, a post he held for the rest of his life. The university awarded him the honorary degree of M.A. in 1909, and the highest degree of Litt.D.

His wife was Frances Louisa Cordue. They had seven children. Their eldest son Sir James Drummond Anderson (1886–1968) was also a member of the Indian Civil Service. Another son William Louis Anderson was the Anglican Bishop of Portsmouth and Salisbury.