WILSON, HORACE HAY MAN, a distinguished Sanskrit scholar, was b. in London, in the year 1786, and was educated for the medical profession. In 1808 be went to India as assistant•surgeon on the Bengal establishment, and in a short time afterward, on account of his proficiency in chemistry, obtained an appointment in the Calcutta mint as assist ant to Dr. Leyden. He now applied himself diligently to the study of Sanskrit, and in a few years obtained sb high a reputation for his scholarship, that, upon the decease of Dr. Ilunter in 1811, Wilsoh was appointed to succeed him as secretary of the Asiatic society of Bengal, on the recommendation of Mr. H. T. Colebrook. In 1813, Wilson published his tirst work, viz., The .A.reglia Dicta, or Cloud Messenger, a Poem in the Sanskrit Language, by Kdliddsa; translated into English Verse, with Notes and illus trations, by H. II. Wilson. This work, originally published at Calcutta in 1813, was reprinted in London in the following year. Ilis next publication was A Dictionary, Sanskrit and English, translated, amended, and enlarged from an original compilation pre pared by Learned Natives (Calcutta, 1819-40). This work proved to be of great advan tage to students of Sanskrit, and added considerably to Wilson's reputation. His works have been , published in a coi.ective edition of 12 vols. (1864-70). Among them as written, edited, or translated by him are: Seket Specimens of the Theatre of the Hindus, translated from the Original Sanskrit, 3 vols. (Calcutta, 1827); The Raghu Vaasa, or race. of Raghu, a Historical Poem, by Hdlideisa, with a Prose Interpretation of the Text, by Pun dits of the Sanskrit College of Calcutta (1832), edited by Wilson; The Vishn'u-Purdn'a, a system of Hindu Mythology, translated from the Original Sanksrat, and illustrated by Notes (Lond. 1840); An Introduction to the Grammar of the Sanskrit Language (Lond. 1841);
Ariana Antigua, a Descriptive Account of the Antiquities and Coins of Afghanistan (Loud. 1841); History of British India from 1805 to 1835 (1848); Rig -Vecia-Sanhita, a Collection of Ancient Hindu hymns; translated from the Original Sansicrit (1850); A Glossary of Judicial and Revenue Terms, from the Arabic, Persian, Hindustani, etc. (1855); Principles of Hindu and Mohammedan Law, republished from the Principles and Precedents of the same, by the late Sir William Hay Macnaghten, and edited by H. II. Wilson (Lond. 1860). Many of these works were produced while Wilson held the office of assay-master and secre tary of the mint at Calcutta. In his official capacity, he often received the thanks of the government of India for reforms in the coinage and other services. He was for many years secretary to the public instruction committee at Calcutta, and took great trouble in directing the-studies of the Hindu college. He was at the same time noted for his musical skill, and his talents as an amateur actor. In 1833 the Boden professorship of Sanskrit was founded in the university of Oxford, and Wilson was elected to that lucrative post, not without strong competition. Soon after his arrival in England, lie was appointed librarian at the East India house, in succession to sir C. Wilkins. This appointment he held in conjunction with the professorship until his death, which occurred on May 8, 1860. He was married to a granddaughter of the celebrated Mrs. Siddons, by whom he had several children. Wilson, as an orientalist, takes rank with sir W. Jones and H. T. Colebrooke. Many of his researches are embodied in papers contributed to the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and other periodicals.