23 Facts About Alexander Burnes

Captain Sir Alexander Burnes was a Scottish explorer, military officer and diplomat associated with the Great Game.

Alexander Burnes was nicknamed Bokhara Burnes for his role in establishing contact with and exploring Bukhara.

Alexander Burnes's memoir, Travels into Bokhara, was a bestseller when it was first published in 1835.

Alexander Burnes's brother was the doctor and surgeon James Burnes.

At the age of sixteen, Alexander Burnes joined the army of the East India Company and while serving in India, he learned Urdu and Persian, and obtained an appointment as an interpreter at Surat in 1822.

Alexander Burnes was transferred to Kutch in 1826 where he was based at Bhuj for three years.

In 1831, travelling in disguise, Alexander Burnes surveyed the route through Kabul to Bukhara and produced the first detailed accounts of Afghan politics.

In so doing, Alexander Burnes developed close bonds with local leaders and governors in cities along the Indus.

In October 1831, Alexander Burnes coordinated the first meeting of Maharaja Ranjit Singh with a sitting commander of British forces in India, Governor General Lord William Bentinck.

From Delhi, Alexander Burnes then travelled to Ludhiana where he received permission to proceed in his travels into Central Asia.

Alexander Burnes was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society the same year.

Alexander Burnes advised Lord Auckland to support Dost Mohammed on the throne of Kabul, but the viceroy preferred to follow the opinion of Sir William Hay Macnaghten and reinstated Shah Shuja, thus leading to the outbreak of the First Anglo-Afghan War.

Alexander Burnes was knighted by Queen Victoria on 6 August 1838, while serving in the 21st India Native Infantry on a mission in Afghanistan, and remained there until his assassination in 1841, during an insurrection in which his younger brother, Charles, was killed.

Alexander Burnes was considered to be the candidate most complacent and willing to cooperate with British interests in the region.

Alexander Burnes, having long considered Shujah unfit to rule, had implored then Governor General Lord Auckland to endorse Dost Mohammad Khan to accede to the throne.

Alexander Burnes's recommendations went unheeded and, on 3 November 1840, Dost Mohammad surrendered himself to British forces, going into exile in India.

Alexander Burnes however, chose to remain within the heart of the old city, taking up residence in a walled house with a handful of other senior officers including his brother Lieutenant Charles Alexander Burnes, and Major William Broadfoot.

On 1 November 1841, Alexander Burnes was approached by his former travelling companion Mohan Lal who informed Alexander Burnes of a plot to have him killed, urging him to flee the city for the relative safety of the cantonment.

Confident he could quell any potential trouble, Alexander Burnes decided to stay in Kabul against his friend's advice.

Alexander Burnes sent a runner to the cantonments asking for immediate assistance, before stepping out onto his balcony to attempt to reason with the crowd.

Now assured that there was no longer a chance for rescue, Charles Alexander Burnes exited, armed, into the courtyard, reportedly killing six men before being hacked to death.

Alexander Burnes was beaten and hacked to death by the mob.

Alexander Burnes is commemorated in the name of the rufous-vented grass babbler Laticilla burnesii.