COTTON, SIR ARTHUR THOMAS Eng lish engineer, tenth son of Henry Calveley Cotton, entered the Madras engineers in 1819, served in the first Burmese war (1824 26), and in 1828 began his life-work on the irrigation works of southern India. He constructed works on the Cauvery, Coleroon, Godavari and Kistna rivers, making anicuts (dams) on the Cole roon (1836-38) for the irrigation of the Tanjore, Trichinopoly and South Arcot districts; and on the Godivari (1847-52) for the irrigation of the Godivari district. He also projected the anicut on the Kistna (Krishna), which was carried out by other officers. Before the beginning of his work Tanjore and the ad joining districts were threatened with ruin from lack of water; on its completion they became the richest part of Madras, and Tanjore returned the largest revenue of any district in India. He was the founder of the school of Indian hydraulic engineering, and carried out much of his work in the face of opposition and discouragement from the Madras government ; though, in the minute of May 15, 1858, that government paid an ample tribute to genius of Cotton's "master mind." He was knighted in I861.
See Lady Hope, General Sir Arthur Cotton (19oo).