author
John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune
1801–1851
A British lawyer and reformer remembered for championing women’s education in India, he founded the Calcutta Female School, later known as Bethune College. His public career joined law, education, and administration, but his strongest legacy is the cause of opening learning to girls.
1 Audiobook
The Life of Galileo Galilei, with Illustrations of the Advancement of Experimental Philosophy Life of Kepler
by John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune
About the author
Born in 1801, he was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, and went on to train as a barrister. Before his work in India, he served in legal and public roles in Britain, building the reputation that later led to his appointment to the Governor-General’s Council.
He is best known for his work in Bengal, where he became a leading advocate for women’s education. In 1849 he founded the Calcutta Female School, an institution that later became Bethune College and is widely recognized as a landmark in the history of women’s education in Asia.
Bethune died in 1851, but his name remained closely tied to educational reform in colonial India. He is often remembered not simply as an administrator, but as someone who used his position to support a lasting social change.