H. E. A. Cotton

Sir Harry Evan Auguste Cotton
Born	27 May 1868 Midnapore
Died	7 March 1939 Eastbourne
Occupation	Historian, author
Spouse(s)	Nora

Sir Harry Evan Auguste Cotton CIE (24 May 1868 – 7 March 1939), better known as Evan Cotton or H. E. A. Cotton, was a Liberal politician, barrister, administrator, journalist, historian and writer. His Calcutta Old and New, first published in 1909, remains unsurpassed to this day.

The son of Sir Henry Cotton, who had the rare distinction of presiding over the 1904 session of the Indian National Congress, and the Irish-born Mary Ryan, he was born at Midnapore, where his father was then posted. He had his early schooling at Mount Liban School, Pau and then at Sherborne School.

He held an open scholarship at Jesus College, Oxford, where he obtained a second class in Classics Honour Mods, followed by second class degrees in history and jurisprudence. He was a keen debater and was elected secretary and then treasurer of the Oxford Union. He was called to the bar by Lincoln's Inn.

Cotton practised at Calcutta High Court from 1893 to 1908. He served as a member of Calcutta Municipal Corporation. He covered the Delhi Durbar of 1903 as a correspondent of the Manchester Guardian. He subsequently served as the Kolkata correspondent of the Daily News. He undertook the editorship of India, the weekly organ of the British Committee of the Indian National Congress. He served as President of the Bengal Legislative Council from 1922 to 1925. He was an active member of the Indian Historical Records Commission and was chairman from 1923 to 1925.

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