Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata
Medical College, Kolkata, also known as Calcutta Medical College, is a Government medical college and hospital located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is one of the oldest existing hospitals in India. The institute was established on 28 January 1835 by Lord William Bentinck during British Raj as Medical College, Bengal. It is the second oldest medical college to teach Western medicine in Asia after Ecole de Médicine de Pondichéry and the second institute to teach in English language. The college offers MBBS degree after five and a half years of medical training.
Front façade of the administrative block
Calcutta Medical College & Hospital main entrance at College Street, Kolkata.
Plaque in memory of Sree Dhiraranjan Sen
Main building of Calcutta Medical College and Hospital
Lieutenant General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, known as Lord William Bentinck, was a British soldier and statesman who served as the governor of Fort William (Bengal) from 1828 to 1834 and the first Governor-General of India from 1834 to 1835. He has been credited for significant social and educational reforms in India, including abolishing sati, forbidding women to witness the cremations on the ghats of Varanasi, suppressing female infanticide and human sacrifice. Bentinck said, "the dreadful responsibility hanging over his head in this world and the next, if… he was to consent to the continuance of this practice (sati) one moment longer." Bentinck after consultation with the army and officials passed the Bengal Sati Regulation, 1829. The challenge came from the Dharma Sabha which appealed in the Privy Council, however the ban on Sati was upheld. He reduced lawlessness by eliminating thuggee – which had existed for over 450 years – with the aid of his chief captain, William Henry Sleeman. Along with Thomas Babington Macaulay he introduced English as the language of instruction in India. Mysore was annexed under his presidency.
Elisa Bonaparte; whom Bentinck would not countenance retaining the Principality of Lucca and Piombino, first granted to her by Napoleon in 1805.
Territory of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1796
Portrait of Napoleon as King of Italy. He renounced the Italian throne, along with the French, on 11 April 1814.
Lady William Cavendish-Bentinck (c 1783–1843) (Ellen Sharples)