1909 – Sir G.A. Grierson

This series consists of a newspaper cutting concerning the conferment of the Medal, and a rubbing of the reverse side of the Medal. Please see Related Material for further details concerning the conferment of the Medal.

George Abraham Grierson was born in 1851 in County Dublin. He was educated at Trinity College Dublin, as a mathematics student, but where he also first developed an interest for oriental languages. He studied Sanskrit and Hindustani before leaving for the Bombay Presidency in 1873. He was appointed Superintendent of the newly formed Linguistic Survey of India in 1898, which took 30 years to complete. Grierson was a prodigious author writing many publications on India and its languages. He died in Camberley, Surrey, in 1941.

George Abraham Grierson was born in 1851 in County Dublin. He was educated at Trinity College Dublin, as a mathematics student, but where he also first developed an interest for oriental languages. He studied Sanskrit and Hindustani before leaving for the Bombay Presidency in 1873. He was appointed Superintendent of the newly formed Linguistic Survey of India in 1898, which took 30 years to complete. Grierson was a prodigious author writing many publications on India and its languages. He died in Camberley, Surrey, in 1941.

The Council Minutes for 8th December 1908 state that the Council were reminded that 1909 is the year for the Triennial Gold Medal to be awarded. The Minutes for 9 February 1909 express that Sir Charles Lyall, Mr Fleet and Professor Browne were nominated by the President as the Selection Committee. Sir Charles Lyall expressed his inability to serve, therefore Mr irvine was nominated in his place. In the Minutes for 9 March 1909, it was noted that Dr Grierson was unanimously selected as the Medal winner. There is also a "Report of the Committee for the Selection of the Gold Medallist 1909", in which it reports that the medal be conferred on Dr Grierson in "recognition of the great services rendered by him on the Linguistic Survey of India and in the general work done by him in connection with the vernacular literature of that country."

In the Journal for the Royal Asiatic Society 1909 (3), p.812, in the report of the Anniversary General Meeting it was reported that the Gold Medal had been awarded the Gold Medal and that it had been presented to him by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales at Marlborough House on 16 March 1909.

Published