12 Facts About James Prinsep

James Prinsep moved to Clifton in 1809 after incurring losses.

James Prinsep's father knew of an opening in the assay department at the mint in India and sent him to train in chemistry at Guy's Hospital and later as an apprentice to Robert Bingley, assay master at the Royal Mint in London.

James Prinsep found a position as an assay master at the Calcutta mint and reached Calcutta along with his brother Henry Thoby on 15 September 1819.

James Prinsep stayed at Benares until the closure of that mint in 1830.

James Prinsep then moved back to Calcutta as deputy assay master, and when Wilson resigned in 1832, he was made assay master at the new silver mint designed in Greek revival style by Major W N Forbes.

James Prinsep painted a series of watercolours of monuments and festivities in Benares which were sent to London in 1829 and published between 1830 and 1834 as Benares Illustrated, in a Series of Drawings.

Captain Herbert was posted as Astronomer to the King of Oudh in 1830, leaving the journal to the editorship of James Prinsep, who was himself the primary contributor to it.

James Prinsep continued to edit the journal until his illness in 1838 which led to his leaving India and subsequently his death.

Brahmi was deciphered by James Prinsep, who was then the secretary of the Society, in a series of scholarly articles published in the Society's journal between 1836 and 1838.

James Prinsep married Harriet Sophia Aubert, elder daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Jeremiah Aubert of the Bengal army and his wife Hannah, at the cathedral in Calcutta on 25 April 1835.

James Prinsep was elected a member to the American Philosophical Society in 1839.

James Prinsep died on 22 April 1840 in his sister Sophia Haldimand's home at 31 Belgrave Square of a "softening of the brain".