The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (RAS) was, according to its Royal Charter of August 11, 1824, established to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia." From its incorporation the Society has been a forum, through lectures, its journal, and other publications, for scholarship relating to Asian culture and society of the highest level. It is the United Kingdom's senior learned society in the field of Asian studies. Fellows include highly accomplished and notable scholars of Asian Studies, and are entitled to use post-nominal letters FRAS. For the ship of the same name, see Royal Charter (ship). ... is the 223rd day of the year (224th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... A learned society is a society that exists to promote an academic discipline or group of disciplines. ... Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland are the great and good people elected by the Council of the Royal Asiatic Society to further the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science literature and the arts in relation to Asia. The Society...

History

The Society was founded in London in 1823, and received its Royal Charter from George IV the following year. The RAS was established by a group primarily composed of notable scholars and colonial administrators. It was intended to be the British counterpart to the Asiatic Society of Calcutta, which had been founded in 1784, by the noted Sanskrit scholar and jurist Sir William Jones. The leading figure in the foundation of the RAS was Henry Thomas Colebrooke, who was himself an important Sanskrit scholar, and one time President of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta. 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... George IV redirects here. ... The Asiatic Society was established by Sir William Jones on 15 January 1784, in Calcutta, the capital of British India, as a scientific institute to enhance and further the cause of Oriental research. ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Sir William Jones Sir William Jones (September 28, 1746 – April 27, 1794) was an English philologist and student of ancient India, particularly known for his proposition of the existence of a relationship among Indo-European languages. ... Henry Thomas Colebrooke (June 15, 1765 - March 18, 1837) was an English orientalist. ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ...

When the Oriental Club of London was formed in 1824, membership of the RAS was stated as one of the four qualifications for membership of the new club.^[1]

Due to the nature of the Society's close connection with the British Empire in the east, much of the work originating with the society has been focused on topics concerning the Indian subcontinent. However, the purview of the Society extends far beyond India: all of Asia and into Islamic North Africa, and Ethiopia are included. The Society does have a few limitations on its field on interest, such as recent political history and current affairs. This particular moratorium led to the founding of the Central Asian Society, which later became the Royal Society for Asian Affairs. After World War II, with the gradual end of British political hegemony 'east of Suez', the Society maintained its disinterested academic focus on Asia. For a comprehensive list of the territories that formed the British Empire, see Evolution of the British Empire. ... Map of South Asia (see note) This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... The Royal Society for Asian Affairs is a learned society based in the United Kingdom, founded in 1901 to promote greater knowledge and understanding of Central Asia and surrounding countries. The geographical extent of the Societys interest has since expanded to include the whole of Asia. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Northermost part of Gulf of Suez with town Suez on map of 1856. ...

Throughout its history the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland has, while only maintaining a very modestly sized membership, always contained a great deal of very distinguished individuals, from both the academic and political world. A list of the most accomplished would include such notables as Rabindranath Tagore, Sir Aurel Stein, and Sir Wilfred Thesiger. In addition to the 'great and the good' the Society has also always had a strong complement of interested amateurs, who make up a large portion of the membership. This membership hails from all over the globe, but primarily the United Kingdom and Asia. Fellows of the Society are elected regularly, and can use the post-nominal letters FRAS. (Bengali: , IPA: ) (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941), also known by the sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali poet, Brahmo Samaj philosopher, visual artist, playwright, novelist, and composer whose works reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ... Image:AurelStein. ... Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger KBE, DSO (3 June 1910 – August 24, 2003) was a British explorer and travel writer born in Addis Ababa in Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). ... Article 90a of the bylaws of the Royal Asiatic Society. ...

Branches

At present, the Society has two functional branches, located in Hong Kong and Korea. The branch in Hong Kong was established in 1847 while the branch in Seoul, South Korea was established in 1900. A former branch in Bombay is now known as The Asiatic Society of Bombay. In 2008 the Shanghai branch (1857 - 1949) was re-established. It is known as the Royal Asiatic Society, North Asia Branch. For other places with the same name, see Korea (disambiguation). ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Short name Statistics Location map Map of location of Seoul. ... Äž: For the film, see: 1900 (film). ... The Asiatic Society of Bombay is a public state library in the city of Mumbai, India. ...

Journal

The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (JRAS), is published by Cambridge University Press thrice a year, each issue contains a number of scholarly essays, and several book reviews. The present editor of the JRAS is Dr Sarah Ansari of Royal Holloway, University of London. In addition to the journal the society also regularly publishes historical manuscripts, and monographs of highest academic quality on numerous topics. The headquarters of the Cambridge University Press, in Trumpington Street, Cambridge. ... Affiliations 1994 Group University of London ACU AMBA Website http://www. ...

Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland

This fund was initially established in 1828[1]; and the results of its initial funding projects were soon forthcoming.[2] The Fund became one of a large number of Victorian subscription printing clubs which published translations, re-issued historical works or commissioned original books which were too specialized for commercial publication; but unlike most of those now defunct organizations, the work of the Royal Asiatic Society Oriental Translation Fund is on-going into the 21st century with a "new series" and "old series" microform catalog available for scholarly research.[3]

President

Currently, the President of the Society is Professor Anthony Stockwell, and the Patron is His Royal Highness The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. Professor Anthony John Tony Stockwell is a British academic. ... “Prince Charles” redirects here. ...

See also

• Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society

Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland are the great and good people elected by the Council of the Royal Asiatic Society to further the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science literature and the arts in relation to Asia. The Society...

References

External links

• Royal Asiatic Society website
• Charter of Incorporation of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland

Bibliography

• "Charter of Incorporation of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. pp 25-27, 1957.
• F.E. Pargiter (ed.) Centenary Volume of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1823-1923. Published by the Society, 1923, London.
• Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Founded March, 1823; Bylaws 1998. Cambridge University Press for the Royal Asiatic Society. 1998.
• Stuart Simmonds and Simon Digby (ed.) The Royal Asiatic Society, Its History and Treasures. Published for the Society, 1979, London.