Vans Kennedy facts for kids

Vans Kennedy (born in 1784, died in 1846) was an important Scottish military leader. He was a major-general in the British Army. He also worked for the East India Company, which was a big trading company from Britain. Besides his military and company work, he was a very smart scholar. He studied and understood ancient languages like Sanskrit and Persian.

Vans Kennedy's Early Life and Career

Vans Kennedy was born in a place called Pinmore in Scotland. His father was Robert Kennedy. His mother, Robina, came from a family named Vans. His father lost all his money when a bank failed. Because of this, the family had to sell their home and move to Edinburgh. Vans Kennedy's father died when Vans was only six years old.

Vans Kennedy was the youngest son in his family. One of his sisters was a well-known writer named Grace Kennedy. He went to school in different places like Edinburgh, Berkhamsted, and Monmouth. When he was 14, he went back to Edinburgh. He then got a special chance to join the army. In 1800, he sailed to Bombay (now called Mumbai) in India.

Military Service in India

Soon after arriving in India, Kennedy joined his army group. They were the 1st battalion of the 2nd Grenadiers. They were sent to fight in the Malabar district. During this fight, he was hurt in his neck. This injury bothered him for the rest of his life.

In 1807, he became a special interpreter for Persian. He worked with the army force at a place called Sirur. This force was led by Colonel William Wallace. While at Sirur, Kennedy met other important people like Sir Barry Close and Sir James Mackintosh.

Working for the East India Company

In 1817, Kennedy got an important job. He was made the judge-advocate-general for the Bombay army. This meant he was the main legal officer for the army. A leader named Mountstuart Elphinstone thought Kennedy was a brilliant scholar. So, Elphinstone gave him another job. Kennedy was to translate government rules into the Marāthā and Gujarāti languages. However, this job was stopped a few months after Elphinstone left.

Kennedy continued as judge-advocate-general until 1835. Then, Sir John Keane removed him from that position. After this, Kennedy was appointed as the oriental translator for the government. He kept this job for the rest of his life. He died in Bombay on December 29, 1846. He was buried in the European cemetery there. He never married.

Vans Kennedy's Scholarly Works

Vans Kennedy was a very dedicated student and scholar. He spent a lot of time studying. He collected many old handwritten books, called manuscripts. He also hired munshi teachers to help him learn languages.

In 1817, he wrote a paper about Persian literature. He shared this paper with the Literary Society of Bombay. He also wrote several papers for the Bombay branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. He was even the President of this branch from 1831 to 1835.

Books and Research

In 1824, Kennedy published a dictionary for the Maratha language in Bombay. Later, in London, he published a book called Researches into the Origin and Affinity of the Principal Languages of Asia and Europe (1828). This book explored how different languages in Asia and Europe were related. In this work, he pointed out Arabic words found in the famous Persian poem, the Shāhnāma.

In 1831, he published another book. It was titled Researches into the Nature and Affinity of Ancient and Hindu Mythology. He also wrote five letters about the Purānas, which are ancient Hindu religious texts. He had some disagreements with other scholars like Horace Hayman Wilson and Graves Champney Haughton about these topics. In 1832, he published a book about military law. A second edition of this book came out in 1847.

Selected Publications

• Researches into the Origin and Affinity of the Principal Languages of Asia and Europe (1828)
• Researches into the Nature and Affinity of Ancient and Hindu Mythology (1831)