Sir Charles Eyre | |
|---|---|
| Born | England |
| Died | 1729 |
| Resting place | St. Anne Churchyard,Kew, England |
| Occupation | Colonial Administrator |
| Known for | President of Fort William |
| Spouse | Mary Charnock |
Sir Charles Eyre (died 1729) was an administrator of theBritish East India Company and founder ofFort William,Calcutta. He was aPresident of Fort William.[1][self-published source?]
While in office, Eyre started work onFort William,Calcutta in 1696.[2] On 10 November 1698, Eyre signed the document legalizing the British occupation of three small villages that formed the basis of the Fort William settlement; his signature, and not that of his father-in-lawJob Charnock (who died in 1692) appears on the document signed with the original landlords, theSabarna Roy Choudhury family.[citation needed] In December 1699, Eyre was appointed president and governor ofFort William inBengal, and Bengal was at the same time constituted a presidency. He was the first governor appointed by the Company to Bengal sinceWilliam Hedges (agent and governor) in 1681 andWilliam Gyfford (president and governor) in December 1683 (after which the title of governor had been temporarily dropped in favour of agent and chief of the bay of Bengal, Bengal having again been subordinated toMadras).[3]
As a merchant, Eyre amassed a fortune of 23,000Pagodas, which through the ingenuity ofThomas Pitt he converted into diamonds to take back with him to England in 1702, having first been ensured a sum of £13,800 through a bill of exchange.[4] His will was proved on 23 October 1729.
Eyre was fromKew, Richmond, Surrey. Eyre was married to Mary, eldest daughter of Job Charnock. Eyre was a sometime resident of Kew, where he leased a house within theKew Palace grounds from SirRichard Levett,Lord Mayor of London who owned the palace as well as the house he leased to Eyre and the estate surrounding them. Levett was a powerful early London merchant who was a merchant adventurer in theHonourable East India Company and one of the first governors of the newBank of England.[5] He was aknight. Eyre was also one of the contributors to the founding ofSt Anne's Church in Kew in 1714.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of Bengal 12 August 1693 – January 1694 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by none | Chief Agent of Bengal January 1694 – 1698 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Agent of Bengal December 1699 – 26 May 1700 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of Bengal 26 May 1700 – 7 January 1701 | Succeeded by |