On this day, the establishment of The Bengal Club was recorded in the Government Gazette. The event was recorded on February 5, 1827, as well.
The club was founded on February 1, 1827. Lt.Col the Hon Finch CB was the club’s first president. He was the military secretary to Lord Combermere, Commander-in-Chief of the British East India Company army and the first patron of the club. The first club functioned from a building in Esplanade West that had been constructed in 1813. The Oriental Club of London, established in 1824, had served to an extent as a model for The Bengal Club.
During the early days membership of the club was largely confined to senior military officials and administrators and a doctors. “Only six merchants and heads or directors of banks find mention in the first roster with 141 names,” the club website informs.
By July 1827, the club was established in a large four-storeyed block in Esplanade East, known as Gordon’s Building, at a rent of Rs 800 per month, the website adds. The club subsequently purchased the house in Chowringhee Road that was formerly occupied by Thomas Babington Macaulay. It is still located there.
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