Claude Martin
| Claude Martin | |
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General Claude Martin. 1794, published in Lucknow. The plate was drawn by Renaldi and engraved by L. Legoux
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| Born |
5 January 1735 Lyon |
| Died | 13 September 1800 (aged 65) Lucknow |
| Occupation | Soldier |
Major General Claude Martin (5 January 1735 – 13 September 1800) was an officer in the French, and later the British, army in India. He rose to the position of Major General in the British East India Company's Bengal Army. Martin was born in Lyon, France, into a humble background, and was a self-made man who has left a substantial lasting legacy in the form of his writings, buildings and the educational institutions he founded posthumously. There are seven schools named after him, two in Lucknow, two in Calcutta and three in Lyon. The small village of Martin Purwa in India was also named after him.
Claude Martin was born on 5 January 1735 in the rue de la Palme, Lyons, France. He was the son of Fleury Martin (1708–1755), a casket maker, and Anne Vaginay (1702–1735), a butcher's daughter. At his local parish school he excelled in mathematics and physics. After leaving school he was apprenticed to a local silk weaver. Martin's family were middle class and by this time they had businesses in mustard, vinegar and brandy. His decision to go into the silk yarn business did therefore not go down well with his family.
In 1751 at the age of 16 Martin decided to seek his fortune abroad, and he signed up with the French Compagnie des Indes. His mother is reported to have said that he should not return from enlisting as a soldier until he was "in a carriage". He was posted to India where he served under Commander and Governor Joseph François Dupleix and General Thomas Arthur Lally in the Carnatic Wars against the British East India Company. When the French lost their colony of Pondichéry in 1761, he accepted service in the Bengal Army of the East India Company in 1763, ultimately rising to the rank of Major General.
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