The Agri-Horticultural Society of India, located in Alipore in the city, was founded on this day by Reverend William Carey, an English Baptist Missionary. Carey was encouraged by the then Governor-General, Marquis of Hastings, who also became the first patron of the society, to start the society. Its purpose was the development of agriculture and horticulture in India.
Carey, who was part of the Baptist Missionary Society, and did pioneering missionary work from Serampore, was also enthusiastic about botany. He and a few other Europeans established the horticultural society, and soon several others joined.
Carey encouraged thinking about improved methods of cultivation and introduced new and useful plants and implements. He encouraged cultivation of crops like cotton and sugarcane and vegetables from outside India such as tomato.
With its flower garden, greenhouses and its variety of plants and trees, the garden remains one of the attractions of the city.