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John Watson Laidlay. 
John Watson Laidlay was horn at Glasgow on the 27th of March 
1808. At an early age he went to London, and began his education 
at a private school at Blackheath. 
After passing through the ordinary curriculum there, he com- 
menced a brief course of technical study, preparatory to going out 
to India, and with this view entered the laboratory of Faraday, by 
whom he was initiated in practical chemistry. At the same time 
he studied Hindustani under Dr Gilchrist, and it was here that he 
made the acquaintance of Bishop Heher. 
This period was, however, very short ; when he reached only his 
seventeenth year it was decided to send him out at once to India, 
and at this point his normal education may be said to have ended, 
his subsequent learning, the varied extent and scholarly accuracy of 
which was known only to his intimate friends, being entirely the 
result of self-imposed study. 
In the end of 1825 he reached Calcutta, and joined his uncles, 
Messrs John and Robert Watson, merchants and indigo planters, 
Bengal, who subsequently purchased from the East India Company 
many of their best silk filatures and indigo factories, such as 
Berhampore, Rampore-Beauleah, Surdah, &c t 
He was now constantly in charge of one or other of the filatures, 
and succeeded in introducing several valuable improvements in the 
machinery for winding silk. 
His spare time he devoted to studying science and natural history, 
but, above all, the Oriental languages, for which he had a very 
decided talent ; and, in addition to the native dialects, soon made 
himself familiar with Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit, and subsequently 
Chinese. 
He originated the Bibliotheca Indica , a serial publication of 
native literature, which has proved a most valuable work, and is 
still continued. 
His love of deciphering inscriptions on ancient monuments was 
great ; and, with a view to assisting the labours of those engaged 
in this work in India, he translated The Pilgrimage of Fa Hian 
from the French edition of the Foe Koue Ki , with additional 
notes and illustrations of his own. 
