John Briggs
Born	1785 (1785)
Died	27 April 1875(1875-04-27) (aged 89–90)
Rank	general
Unit	Madras Infantry
Battles / wars	Mahratta wars
Signature

GeneralJohn Briggs (1785–1875) was a British officer in the army of theEast India Company, and an author.

Briggs entered theMadras Infantry in 1801. He took part in theMahratta wars, serving in the final campaign as a political officer under SirJohn Malcolm, whom he had previously accompanied on his mission toPersia in 1810. He was one ofMountstuart Elphinstone's assistants in theDekhan, subsequently served inKhandesh, and succeeded CaptainGrant Duff as resident atSattára.

In 1831 Briggs was appointedChief Commissioner of Mysore when the administration of that state was assumed by the British. His appointment to this office, which was made by the governor-generalLord William Bentinck, was not agreeable to the government of Madras, and after a stormy tenure which lasted around a year, Briggs resigned his post in September 1832. He was transferred to the residency ofNágpur, where he remained until 1835. In that year he left India, and never returned. In 1838 he attained the military rank of major-general. He became then lieutenant-general (1851) and full general on 6 February 1861.^[1]

After his return to England he took a prominent part as a member of the court of directors of the East India Company in the discussion of Indian affairs, and was an opponent ofLord Dalhousie's annexation policy. He was also an active member of theAnti-Corn-law League.

Briggs was elected a fellow of theRoyal Society in recognition of his proficiency in oriental literature. He died atBurgess Hill,Sussex, on 27 April 1875, at the age of eighty-nine.

He was a good Persian scholar, and translatedFerishta'sMohammadan Power in India, and theSiyar-ul-Murákhirin, which recorded the decline ofMoghul power. He was also the author of an essay on the land tax of India, and in a series ofLetters Addressed to a Young Person in India he discussed questions on the conduct of army officers, and civil servants, and especially their treatment of Indians. In 1836, he wrote an essay length tract advocating the professional training of the Indian Officer class of the East India Company's armies. Indian officers provided the crucial command, control and communication functions between British officers and the rank-and-file Indian sepoys and sowars.^[2]

• "Briggs, John (1785-1875)" .Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: "Briggs, John (1785-1875)".Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

• John Briggs, 'Account of the Origin, History, and Manners of the Race of Men called Bunjaras' inTransactions of the Literary Society of Bombay, vol.1(London, 1819)

• 1785 births
• 1875 deaths
• British East India Company Army generals
• 19th-century British civil servants
• 19th-century British people
• Fellows of the Royal Society
• Fellows of the Ethnological Society of London

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