John Forbes David Inglis, a civil servant in British India, was born on this day. His father was also in the service of the British East India Company and spent most of his time in India. The family was from Scotland. After studying at the East India College at Haileybury near London, Inglis came to Calcutta.

In 1847, he was posted in Sialkot in Punjab. He worked under Sir John Lawrence, chief commissioner of “the Punjab”, and was appointed commissioner of Rohilkhand. He became a member of the Legislative Council of India and returned to Calcutta in 1873. In 1875, he was made chief commissioner of Oudh State.

A liberal, he did not get along with governor-general Lord Lytton’s Afghan policy and was overlooked for appointment to the post of the governor of North-West Province, a promotion he had expected. Following this he went back to Edinburgh, where he would be active in public life. With his daughter Elsie Inglis, he founded the Scottish Association for the Medical Education of Women in Edinburgh. The association founded the Edinburgh Medical College for Women, which played a pioneering role in medical education for women in Britain.

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