John Baillie of Leys (1772-1833)
(1772-1833) Professor of Arabic and Persian, Fort William College, Calcutta
John Baillie entered the service of the East India Company as a soldier, eventually achieving the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and was appointed Professor of Arabic and Persian and of Mohammedan Law at Fort William College, Calcutta from 1801-1807. During the Mahratta War 1807-1815 he was captain and political agent in Lucknow during the Mahratta War. On his retirement he became an MP, first for Heddon in England 1820-1830 and then for Inverness 1830-1832. He published "The Five Books upon Arabic Grammar" (1801).
His grandson John B. Baillie of Leys bequeathed his grandfather's collection of 165 Arabic and Persian manuscripts to the University Library in 1876 including the exquisitely written and illuminated History of the World by Rashid al-Din (A.D. 1306/07). They are listed in "A descriptive catalogue of the Arabic and Persian manuscripts" in Edinburgh University Library, by Mohammed Hukk and others (1925).
