Charles Philip Brown
| Charles Phillip Brown | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 November 1798 Calcutta |
| Died | 12 December 1884 London |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Indian Civil Service |
| Literary movement | Collection of Telugu books |
| Notable works | Telugu dictionary |
Charles Philip Brown (10 November 1798 – 12 December 1884) was a Telugu writer and an Englishman by descent. He worked as an official in Cuddapah and Rajahmundry during the British rule in India.
Telugu literature was in a dormant phase and declined in 18th century because of various social and political reasons, including lack of creative Telugu poets, prevailing illiteracy and decline of empires, like Vijayanagara Empire, who were patrons of the literature. Brown being an official in the region collected the works, printed them and he believed he saved the heritage of the Telugu language. In his own words, "Telugu literature was dying out; the flame was flickering in the socket in 1825, I found Telugu literature dead. In 30 years I raised it to life".
Janamaddi Hanumth Sastri who has done an extensive research on Brown established a library in Kadapa in his memorial.
Charles Brown was born in Calcutta on 10 November 1798. His father David Brown was a manager of an orphanage and a missionary and scholar in many languages including Sanskrit. Charles Brown moved back to England in 1812 after his father's death and returned to Madras on 4 August 1817 to obtain training from Haileybury College for a civil service job in India.
In 1820, Sir Thomas Monroe, governor of Madras had ordered that every official should learn a local language. As part of the curriculum he had to learn a local language and he chose Telugu language under the guidance of Velagapudi Kodandarama Panthulu. Charles Brown passed Telugu exam as well as the civil service exam in 1820. He joined as a deputy to Mr. Hunbury, the collector of Cuddapah. He was inspired by Hunbury's fluency in Telugu and improved his Telugu more. He was transferred to Machilipatnam in 1824 and then to Rajahmundry in 1825. His administrator services at the time of the Great Guntur famine(1832–1833) were highly appreciated.
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