John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune, the educator whose contribution towards women’s education in India is immense, had founded Hindu Female School in 1849 with 21 girls at Baithakkhana at a private residence.
Enrolment went up and on this day in 1850, and with the support of Dakshina Ranjan Mukherjee, at whose home the classes were being held, Ramgopal Ghosh, Iswarchandra Vidyasagar and Madan Mohan Tarkalankar, the foundation stone was laid for a large building for the school on a plot west of Cornwallis Square.
Sambas Sudhangshu, a Bengali newspaper, reported that Rs 40,000 would be required for the construction of the building alone.
The ceremony was presided over by deputy governor of Bengal John Hunter Littler. Lady Littler planted an Ashok tree at the request of Bethune, who wanted “the Tree of Gladness” for its beauty and grace and its significance in local mythology and beliefs.
Though support for the institution declined after Bethune’s death in 1851, the government took it over in 1856 and it was renamed Bethune School after its founder a few years later.
The school played an important role in women’s education. In 1879, it became Bethune College, the first women’s college in India.