12 Facts About Job Charnock

Job Charnock is widely regarded by historians as the founder of the city of Calcutta ; however, this view was challenged in court, and in 2003 the Calcutta High Court ruled that he ought not to be regarded as the founder.

Job Charnock was described as a silent, morose man, not popular among his contemporaries, but as "always a faithful man to the Company", which rated his services very highly.

Job Charnock was said to be a fifteen-year-old Rajput princess.

Job Charnock named her Maria, and soon after he was accused of secretly converting to Hinduism.

Job Charnock was promoted to the rank of senior merchant by 1666, and became third in the Bengal hierarchy in 1676.

Job Charnock was now the Company's longest-serving servant in Bengal, and applied for a transfer to a more senior post.

Cossimbazar was notorious as a smugglers' den, and when Job Charnock assumed his new post on Christmas Day 1680 it was over the objections of Streynsham Master, president at Madras, who oversaw the Company's operations in the whole Bay of Bengal.

On Hedges' arrival at Hooghly, Job Charnock found him to be an officious neophyte.

Job Charnock was further irritated by the fact that members of Hedges' staff from Hooghly were regularly sabotaging their colleagues' work in Cossimbazar by poaching the local commodities.

University librarian Prabodh Biswas writes that the ritual resembles the Sufi worship of the panch peer or "five saints", a custom which Job Charnock "is said to have adopted".

Job Charnock was said to have built his garden house at Barrackpore so as to be near her grave.

In Madras Job Charnock persuaded the reluctant council, over the objections of its president, his old opponent William Hedges, that Sutanuti was the best place to establish the headquarters in Bengal, because of its defensible position and its deep-water anchorage for the fleet.