>GagHalfrunt: /* Maharajah Duleep Singh and the Koh-i-Noor */

2021-03-24T19:38:47Z

Maharajah Duleep Singh and the Koh-i-Noor

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{{Infobox medical person
| honorific_prefix = Sir
| name = John Spencer Login
| honorific_suffix =
| image = John Spencer Login.jpg
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| birth_date = 9 November 1809
| birth_place = [[Stromness]], [[Orkney]], Scotland
| death_date = 18 October 1863
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| spouse = [[Lena, Lady Login|Lena Campbell]]
| nationality = British
| citizenship =
| education = University of Edinburgh
| occupation = Surgeon, Royal Navy
| years_active =
| known_for = Guardianship of [[Maharajah Duleep Singh]] and [[Koh-i-Noor]]
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'''Sir John Spencer Login''' (9 November 1809 – 18 October 1863) was a Scottish surgeon in [[British India]], best remembered as the guardian of [[Maharajah Duleep Singh]] and the [[Koh-i-Noor]] diamond following the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War|annexation of Punjab]] and [[Treaty of Lahore#Text of the 1849 Last Treaty of Lahore|Last Treaty of Lahore]].

Born in the seaport of [[Stromness]], [[Orkney]], in 1809, Login went on to study medicine at the [[University of Edinburgh]] and was, within a few years, offered the post of assistant surgeon for the [[East India Company]]. Arriving in [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] in 1832, he initially had appointments with the [[Bengal Army|Bengal establishment]] and the [[Nizam of Hyderabad|Nizam’s army]]. Later roles included, amongst others, a medical charge of the [[horse artillery]] in the [[First Anglo-Afghan War|Afghan campaign]], residency surgeoncy at [[Lucknow]], action in the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]] and in 1849, the appointment as the Governor of [[Lahore]].

It was under Login and his wife's guidance that Duleep Singh converted to Christianity and was escorted to England in 1854. After a final trip to India, Login died shortly after his return to England in 1863.

==Early life and family==
[[File:John Spencer Login by R.B.jpg|thumb|John Spencer Login by R.B.]]
[[File:Stromness, Orkney by William Daniell.jpg|thumb|Stromness, Orkney. [[William Daniell]], c. 1815.]]
John Spencer Login was born in Stromness, Orkney, on 9 November 1809, to John Login of the [[merchant navy]] and his wife Margaret Spence, from [[Kirbuster]], [[Birsay]]. He was ten years older than his brother, the Reverend William S. Login and there were at least two other brothers, Tom and James.<ref name="Login1890">{{cite book|last=Login|first=Lena Campbell|title=Sir John Login and Duleep Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZK3ix0VFzeAC&pg=PR14|year=1890|publisher=Normal Publishers and Distributors|location=New Delhi|pages=1–14}}</ref><ref name=":Orkney"/>

Login's father had settled in Stromness after retiring from the merchant navy and set up his own shipping business, part owning shipping vessels. At the time, Stromness was a busy trading port.<ref name="Login1890"/> Login's paternal grandfather had worked for the [[Hudson Bay Company]] and was a regular visitor to Stromness, and his maternal grandfather had commanded a [[merchant vessel]] to the West Indies. His maternal grandmother was the daughter of Edward Groundwater from [[Orphir]].<ref name="Login1890"/><ref name=":Orkney">[http://www.aboutorkney.com/jlogin00.html John Login.] ''About Orkney''. Retrieved 14 June 2018.</ref> With frequent travellers in town, the Login family would often have short-term lodgers who would share their travel stories. Login, perhaps, became inspired by these stories of the sea.<ref name="Login1890"/> The fear of their son going to sea led, Login's parents to send him to school in [[Kirkwall]]. Here, however, Login continued to hear sea stories from fishermen.<ref name="Login1890"/>

Login's family encountered financial hardship when Login's father died prematurely<ref name=":Orkney"/> and due to the absence of insurance, the family could no longer afford to repair the increasing number of shipwrecks.<ref name="Login1890"/> They eventually became reliant on the charity and hospitality of friends.<ref name="Login1890"/> As the Hudson Bay agent for Stromness, Margaret managed the inn, near the Login's Well.<ref name=":Orkney"/>

==Early medical career==
Login was admitted to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh under [[James Syme]] at around the age of 15. Subsequently, he became surgeon-dresser to Adam Hunter and John Campbell at the Infirmary in Edinburgh. He received his licentiate ([[LRCSE]]) in 1828 at age 19.<ref name="Login1890"/>

In 1829, he became house surgeon to [[Robert Liston]] and [[John Lizars]], following which he became physician's clerk to [[James Gregory (physician)|James Gregory]], [[Thomas Shortt]] and [[Robert Christison]]. He obtained his MD at the age of 21 years in 1831.<ref name="Login1890"/>

At the recommendation of Thomas Shortt, Login was sent to provide medical supervision to the [[William Adam of Blair Adam|Lord Chief Commissioner Adam]]. Pleased with his treatment, Login was subsequently offered the post of assistant surgeon for the [[East India Company]] by John Loch, the Lord Chief’s son-in-law.<ref name="Login1890"/>

==Early years in India==
Login arrived in Calcutta in July 1832, as assistant surgeon on the Bengal establishment, initially posted to the [[Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)|Buffs]] and then accompanying the regiment to [[Dinapore]] in October.<ref name="Login1890"/> He was appointed to the Bengal [[horse artillery]] in the same year.<ref name="peerage1863">Dod, Robert P. (1863) {{cite book|title=The Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, of Great Britain and Ireland for 1863 &c.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i95kAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA375|year=1863|publisher=Whittaker & Co.|place=London|page=375}}</ref>

In 1834, he was appointed to the Nizam’s army and in 1836, to the staff of [[Charles Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe|Lord Metcalfe]], Lieutenant-Governor of the [[North-Western Provinces]].<ref name="peerage1863"/>

In 1838, he was appointed medical charge of the horse artillery in the Afghan campaign.<ref name="peerage1863"/>

==Lucknow==
[[File:The Children of Sir John Spencer Login in Lucknow, anon, 1846.png|thumb|''The Children of Sir John Spencer Login in Lucknow'', anon. Miniature on ivory, 1846.<ref name=britl/>]]
Considered an appointment of good fate and fortune due to subsidies and favours from the [[Vizier]] of [[Oudh]],<ref name="IMS1955">{{Cite journal|last=McDonald|first=Donald|date=2 November 1955|title=The Indian Medical Service. A Short Account of its Achievements 1600–1947|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine|volume=49|issue=1|pages=13–17|doi=10.1177/003591575604900103|pmid=13289828|pmc=1889015}}</ref> Login was appointed to the Resident Surgeon at [[Lucknow]] in 1838 as well as physician to the court of Oudh and [[Postmaster General]] of Oudh.<ref name="Lenaoxfordbio"/> Unlike his predecessors, his wife noted in her diaries that he did not take advantage of this position.<ref name=":Orkney"/>

Login became an effective member of the Board of Management as the Honorary Secretary of the [[La Martiniere Lucknow|Martiniere College]] in Lucknow, compiling the College rules.<ref name=":Orkney"/>

It was in Lucknow that Login met [[Lena Login|Lena Campbell]] in 1842. She too was from Scotland and had come to India with her sister and brother-in-law, Major Hope Dick. They married in July of that year.<ref name=":Orkney"/> Their children were depicted in a miniature on ivory by an anonymous Indian artist in 1846. The scene shows their oldest son Edward William Spencer Login (born 1843) on a rocking horse, their daughter Lena Margaret Campbell Login (1845) in a blue dress, and the infant Louisa Marion d’Arcy Login (1846) held by the children's [[Amah (occupation)|ayah]]. The Indian child in the picture is unidentified.<ref name=britl/> Ultimately, they had six children.<ref name="Lenaoxfordbio">[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-48644/version/0 Login (née Campbell), Lena, Lady Login.] Rosemary Cargill Raza, ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', Oxford University Press, Oxford. Online edition. Retrieved 14 June 2018. {{subscription required}}</ref>

As physician to the Court of Oudh, Login was barred from directly examining women in the [[zenana]].<ref name="Login1890" /> However, here, his wife Lena was able assist in diagnosing the medical conditions.<ref name="Lenaoxfordbio" />

In 1839, Login took responsibility for two thousand poor in [[Herat]]. After assisting with the re-building of the carpet weaving industry, political instability in the area caused the British mission to leave and Login to move to [[Kandahar]] and then [[Kabul]], eventually returning again to Lucknow.<ref name=":Orkney"/>

Rejoining the Horse Artillery in 1848, Login sent his wife and children back to England. He then fought in the Second Anglo-Sikh War.<ref name=":Orkney"/>

==Maharajah Duleep Singh and the Koh-i-Noor==
[[File:Maharaja Duleep Singh.jpg|thumb|A young Maharaja Duleep Singh. After Charles Stewart Hardinge, 1847.<ref name=britl>[http://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2017/07/children-of-sir-john-spencer-login-in-lucknow-in-1846.html Children of Sir John Spencer Login in Lucknow in 1846.] Malini Roy, British Library, 28 July 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2018.</ref>]]
[[File:Koh-i-Noor old version copy.jpg|thumb|Replica of the Koh-i-Noor diamond before re-cutting in 1852]]
Following the death of [[Maharajah Ranjit Singh]] in 1839 and the ensuing decade<ref>[https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/06/the-koh-i-noor-the-greatest-blood-diamond-in-the-world/ The Koh-i-Noor: the greatest blood diamond in the world.] David Crane, ''[[The Spectator]]'', 24 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2018.</ref> of power struggles, civil war and [[First Anglo-Sikh War]], the [[East India Company]] army defeated the Sikhs in 1849, resulting in the inducement of the ten year old Maharajah Duleep Singh to sign the [[Treaty of Lahore#Text of the 1849 Last Treaty of Lahore|Last Treaty of Lahore]] with the consequential annexation of Punjab.<ref name=":0">[https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/books/william-dalrymple-on-the-koh-i-noor-diamond-colonialism-and-brexit-1-4483491 William Dalrymple on the Koh-i-Noor diamond, colonialism and Brexit.] ''The Scotsman'', 22 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2018.</ref><ref name="Dalrymple and Anand, 2017, p. 3">Dalrymple and Anand, 2017, p. 3.</ref> Subsequently, Login was entrusted with the Company’s two most significant possessions, the guardianship of Maharajah Duleep Singh and the protection of the [[Koh-i-Noor]] diamond.<ref name="AhmedMukherjee2011">{{cite book|last=Wainwright|first=A. Martin|editor=Rehana Ahmed|others=Sumita Mukherjee|title=South Asian Resistances in Britain, 1858 – 1947|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LKhKb_6iqoUC&pg=PA96|year=2012|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-4411-2577-4|page=96|chapter=Royal Relationships as a Form of Resistance: The Case of Duleep Singh and Abdul Karim}}</ref><ref name="DalrympleAnand2017">Dalrymple and Anand, 2017, p. 188-195.</ref><ref name="Anand2015">{{cite book|last=Anand|first=Anita.|title=Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5SlBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|year=2015|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|place=London|isbn=978-1-4088-3545-6|pages=24–37}}</ref>

In addition, Login was put in charge of cataloguing the newly acquired treasures of the Sikh government's [[toshakhana]] (treasury).<ref name="DalrympleAnand2017"/> He meticulously measured, described and recorded the details of each jewel.<ref name=":Orkney"/> He was also in charge of the post office in Punjab.<ref name="peerage1863"/> It was said that the British regarded Login as the most trustworthy man in all India.<ref name="DalrympleAnand2017" />

Login was first introduced to the ten year old Maharajah Duleep Singh on 6 April 1849,<ref name="DalrympleAnand2017"/> just a few days after he had been appointed Governor of "the Citadel of Lahore and all that it contains".<ref name=":Orkney"/> They moved from Lahore to Fatehgarh Park, [[Fatehgarh]], where Login introduced an English type of learning.<ref name="Lenaoxfordbio"/> Impressed with the young Duleep Singh's handsome looks and attitudes, Login noted his (Duleep's) preferences for isolation, but attributed this to the "maharajah's contemplative nature" rather than to unhappiness. Apprehensive about the manner in which the diamond had been obtained, he avoided the subject with Duleep Singh. In addition, he avoided conversation about Singh's mother [[Jind Kaur]].<ref name="DalrympleAnand2017"/> It was, according to [[George Bruce Malleson]], under Login's guidance that Duleep Singh "developed into a Christian gentleman, an English courtier, and a Scottish laird",<ref name="KayeMalleson2010">{{cite book|last=Kaye|first=John.|editor=George Bruce Malleson|title=Kaye's and Malleson's History of the Indian Mutiny of 1857–8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mxRkemGNk9oC&pg=PA34|year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-02323-8|page=34}} Reprint of 1897 original published by Longmans, Green & Co., London.</ref> who saw Login as a significant figure in his life, calling him "MaBap", a collective appellation for mother and father.<ref>Dalrymple and Anand, 2017, p. 238.</ref> 

The Koh-i-Noor was eventually handed over to [[James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie|Governor-General Dalhousie]] at the end of 1849 by Login, whilst still set in the armlet that Maharajah Ranjeet Singh had once worn.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Dalrymple and Anand, 2017, p. 3"/>

Lena Login returned to India to assist in the upbringing of Duleep Singh and later they escorted Duleep Singh to England in 1854.<ref name="AhmedMukherjee2011"/>

==Later life==
Back in England, Login was knighted in 1854,<ref name="AhmedMukherjee2011"/> and with his wife continued the guardianship of the Duleep Singh until 1858.<ref name=":Orkney"/> In the same year, he retired from the Bengal Medical Service.<ref name="peerage1863"/>

Following the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], he sat on the committee that was set up to investigate all reported brutalities, being one of the interviewers himself.<ref name=":Orkney" />

==Death and legacy==
[[File:Memorial To Sir John Spencer Login.jpg|thumb|Grave of John Login, Felixstowe, Suffolk]]
[[File:John Spencer Login tombstone.jpg|thumb|Tombstone of Login]]
In 1862-3 he visited India for the last time, to establish the [[Indian Railways]]. Upon his return to Britain, he died suddenly at [[Felixstowe]] on 18 October 1863 following a short illness and two months after the death of Duleep Singh's mother.<ref name=":Orkney" /><ref name="AhmedMukherjee2011"/>

Local coastguards in Felixstowe carried his coffin for one mile to the church. He had been described as "truthful" by [[John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence|Lord Lawrence]], past [[Viceroy of India]] and "a thoroughly good, conscientious man" by Queen Victoria's private secretary, [[Charles Beaumont Phipps|Sir Charles Phipps]].<ref name=":Orkney"/> For a "heartbroken"<ref name="Anand2015"/> Duleep Singh, Login's death was likened to the loss of a father.<ref name=":Orkney"/> His tombstone, erected by Duleep Singh, was engraved with words chosen by Queen Victoria.<ref name=":Orkney"/>

In 1890 Login's wife, Lady Lena Login, published ''Sir John Login and Duleep Singh'', her memoirs of their relationship.<ref name="Lenaoxfordbio" />

In 2015, photograph albums thought to have once belonged to Login were sold at auction.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sikhmuseum.org.uk/rare-photos-of-duleep-singh-sold-at-auction/|title=Rare photos of Duleep Singh sold at auction|date=30 September 2015|work=Sikh Museum Initiative|access-date=4 June 2018|language=en-GB}}
</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Citations==
*[[William Dalrymple (historian)|William Dalrymple]] and [[Anita Anand]], [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JFcqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT168&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false ''Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond'']. Bloomsbury Publishing (2017). {{ISBN|978-1-63557-077-9}}

==Further reading==
[[File:Sir John Login and Duleep Singh.djvu|thumb|page=11|''Sir John Login and Duleep Singh''; full scan in a [[DjVu]] file]]
*Login, Lena, and Edith Dalhousie Login (Ed.) (1916) ''[https://archive.org/details/ladyloginsrecoll00logirich Lady Login's Recollections: Court Life and Camp Life 1820–1904]''. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
*Login, Lena Campbell, Lady, 1820–1904 (1890) ''[https://archive.org/details/sirjohnloginand00logigoog Sir John Login and Duleep Singh]''. Introduction by G. M. Malleson. W. H. Allen & Co.

== External links ==
*{{commons category-inline|John Spencer Login}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Login, John Spencer}}
[[Category:1809 births]]
[[Category:1863 deaths]]
[[Category:Scottish surgeons]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:People from Orkney]]
[[Category:University of Edinburgh Medical School alumni]]

John Spencer Login - Revision history

>GagHalfrunt: /* Maharajah Duleep Singh and the Koh-i-Noor */