Arthur Campbell (British East India Company)

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Archibald Campbell (1805–1874) of the Bengal Medical Service (according to some source, Indian Medical Service) was the first superintendent of the sanitarium of Darjeeling town in India. Several sources differ regarding the first name of Dr Campbell. While some tell the "A" in Dr A. Campbell stands for Arthur,^[1] the name register of the Darwin Correspondence Online Database tells his name is Archibald,^[2] seconded by Teagenius.com.^[3] Again, in the same database, footnote of a letter from Darwin to Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker cites his name as Andrew.^[4] He is also referred to as the first superintendent of Darjeeling.^[1] Dr Campbell was transferred from Kathmandu to Darjeeling in 1839.^[1][5]

In 1841, Dr Campbell brought China tea seeds from Kumaun region and started to grow tea near his residence at Beechwood, Darjeeling, on an experimental basis.^[5] His experiments were followed by similar efforts by several others, and soon, tea was started to be cultivated in the area.

In 1849, Dr Campbell and Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (a famous naturalist and explorer) were imprisoned by the Dewan of Sikkim when they were touring the Sikkim region towards Chola pass in Tibet.^[4] A British team was sent to negotiate with the king of Sikkim. However, they were released without any bloodshed.^[6]

Dr Campbell wrote many papers on Himalayan geography^[2] and at least one paper on the Lepchas of Sikkim^[1]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Kennedy Dane. The Magic Mountains: Hill Stations and the British Raj Berkeley: University of California Press, c1996 1996.
2. ^ ^{a b} Archibald Campbell, 1805–74
3. ^ History of Darjeeling tea TeaGenius.com
4. ^ ^{a b} Letter number 1558: To J. D. Hooker. 10 March 1854. The Darwin Correspondence Online Database.
5. ^ ^{a b} Darjeeling Tea History. Darjeelingnews.net
6. ^ History of Darjeeling Darjeelingnews.net