Archibald Campbell (1805–1874) of the Bengal Medical Service (according to some source, Indian Medical Service) was the first superintendent of the sanitarium of Darjeeling town in India. Interestingly, several sources differ regarding the first name of Dr Campbell. While some tell the "A" in Dr A. Campbell stands for Arthur,^[1] the name register of the Darwin Correspondence Online Database tells his name is Archibald,^[2] seconded by Teagenius.com.^[3] Again, in the same database, footnote of a letter from Darwin to Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker cites his name as Andrew.^[4] He is also referred to as the first superintendent of Darjeeling.^[1] Dr Campbell was transferred from Kathmandu to Darjeeling in 1839.^[1][5] Darjeeling (Nepali: , Bangla: দার্জিলিং) is a town in the Indian state of West Bengal. ... Charles Robert Darwin FRS (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist who achieved lasting fame by producing considerable evidence that species originated through evolutionary change, at the same time proposing the scientific theory that natural selection is the mechanism by which such change occurs. ... Joseph Dalton Hooker Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, GCSI, OM, FRS, MD (June 30, 1817 – December 10, 1911) was an English botanist and traveller. ... Kathmandu (Nepali: काठमाडौं, Nepal Bhasa:यें) is the capital city of Nepal and it is also the largest city in Nepal. ...

In 1841, Dr Campbell brought China tea seeds from Kumaun region and started to grow tea near his residence at Beechwood, Darjeeling, on an experimental basis.^[5] His experiments were followed by similar efforts by several others, and soon, tea was started to be cultivated in the area. Kumaun (aka Kumaon) is the little patch of the Himalaya tucked up where India, Nepal and Tibet all meet in a tangle of valleys, forests and icy peaks. ...

In 1849, Dr Campbell and Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (a famous naturalist and explorer) were imprisoned by by the Dewan of Sikkim when they were touring the Sikkim region towards Chola pass in Tibet.^[4] A British team was sent to negotiate with the king of Sikkim. However, they were released without any bloodshed.^[6] Joseph Dalton Hooker Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, GCSI, OM, FRS, MD (June 30, 1817 – December 10, 1911) was an English botanist and traveller. ... Sikkim (also Sikhim) (Hindi: सिक्किम) is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas. ... This article is becoming very long. ...

Dr Campbell wrote many papers on Himalayan geography^[2] and at least one paper on the Lepchas of Sikkim^[1] The Lepcha (population: 50,000) are the aboriginal inhabitants of present day Sikkim. ...

Notes

1. ^ ^a b c d Kennedy Dane. The Magic Mountains: Hill Stations and the British Raj Berkeley: University of California Press, c1996 1996.
2. ^ ^a b Archibald Campbell, 1805–74
3. ^ History of Darjeeling tea TeaGenius.com
4. ^ ^a b Letter number 1558: To J. D. Hooker. 10 March 1854. The Darwin Correspondence Online Database.
5. ^ ^a b Darjeeling Tea History. Darjeelingnews.net
6. ^ History of Darjeeling Darjeelingnews.net