Dr John Tytler (1787–1837),Superintendent of the Native Medical Institution,Calcutta

Abstract

Dr John Tytler was a surgeon in the Indian Medical Service in Bengal who played a key role in the development of medical education in India at the beginning of the 19th century. He was a convinced orientalist, having taught himself Arabic, Sanskrit, Hindi, Persian and Bengali languages and translated many Western publications into vernacular languages. His career included work with Indian sepoy regiments, as a civilian surgeon and as superintendent of the Native Medical Institute. The end of his career in India was intensely frustrating for him as the Institute was replaced with the Calcutta Medical College where teaching was in English and he was excluded from a role in it. It is easy to ignore the important role men such as Tytler had in the development of Indian medicine.

Keywords

John Tytler Native Medical Institute India orientalist/anglicist controversy medical education

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