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Montague Dundas Cockburn (/ˈkoʊbərn/ KOH-bərn; 31 January 1789[1] – 28 September 1869) was a Scottish coffee planter, and Collector of Salem district (in Madras Presidency, British India) between 1820 and 1829. He was the father of ornithologist and painter Margaret Cockburn.[2]
M. D. Cockburn | |
|---|---|
| 8th Collector of Salem District | |
| In office 15 February 1820 – 11 May 1829 | |
| Preceded by | S. Smith |
| Succeeded by | R. Nelson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Montague Dundas Cockburn 31 January 1789 |
| Died | 28 September 1869 (aged 80) |
| Resting place | Kotagiri, Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Spouse |
Catherine Jane Lascelles
(died 1879) |
| Children | Margaret Cockburn |
Cockburn is known as the "Father of Yercaud" for developing the resources of the Shevaroy Hills,[3] and for introducing the cultivation of coffee, pears and apples into most of the hill stations of Madras Presidency, particularly in Yercaud, a small hill station in Salem District.[4]
Cockburn helped in improving the coffee plantations in Tamil Nadu. While he was collector of Salem, he visited many hill stations, like Yercaud and Kotagiri, and it was when he visited Yercaud in 1820 that he introduced coffee plants from Arabia. Cockburn erected a small hut which is now known as Grange Estate. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the building was fortified to form a castle-like structure, and is an important landmark today. The first coffee estate in Kotagiri was planted by Cockburn in 1843, in Kanhutty. Catherine Falls, located 7 km from Kotagiri, is sometimes claimed to be named after his wife, Catherine Jane Lascelles (died 30 August 1879) although the name of St. Catherine's Falls[5] is recorded from 1852.[6][7][8]
References
edit- ^ Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950
- ^ Kumar, N Vinoth (21 April 2022). "Jayalalithaa's Kodanad estate: Grand British bungalow to 'house of murders'". The Federal News.
- ^ Tejwant Singh (17 September 2000). "Yercaud: The new hill station". The Tribune. Retrieved 1 April 2008.
- ^ "Kotagiri". Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
- ^ Wight, Robert (1852). Icones plantarum Indiae Orientalis :or figures of Indian plants. Volume 5. p. 7.
- ^ Cotton, Julian James (1905). Inscriptions on tombs or monuments in Madras. Madras. p. 285.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Playne, Somerset (1914) Southern India, its history, people, commerce, and industrial resources. The Foreign and Colonial Compiling and Publishing Co., London. scan page 240
- ^ Eagan, J.S.C (1916) The Nilgiri Guide And Directory. The S.P.C.K Press scanned book