The Ritchies in India

Extracts from the Correspondence of William Ritchie, 1817-1862 and Personal Reminiscences of Gerald Ritchie
Interesting facets of his life in India are revealed through these letters, which also bring out his remarkable power of writing. There is an interesting correspondence about his meeting with Dwarkanath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore’s father, and other well-known luminaries of Cal­cutta.
William Ritchie (1817-1862) was the Advocate-General of Bengal from 1855 to 1862. Ritchie’s maternal family, the Thackerays, had a long association with India. His father, John Ritchie, was the director of a bank that failed in November 1841, causing the Ritchie family to flee to the continent to escape creditors. Unable to maintain the expense of reading for the Bar in London, William instead looked to the Indian Bar, where he could earn an immediate income to support his parents. William quickly built a name at the bar in Calcutta. He was appointed as the Advocate-General of Bengal in (1855?), also as the second Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta in 1859, and Legislative Mem­ber of the Council of the Governor-General of India in (I860?). He held these offices until his death in Calcutta on 22 March 1862. His numerous correspondences with his family are reproduced in this book.

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