Dean Mahomet:The first known Bangalee in UK

updated on January 17, 2007

Dean Mahomet:The first known Bangalee in United Kingdom


Dean Mahomet(1759-1851):The dauntless and fascinating traveller from Bangla in the late eighteenth century,author of the travel accounts "The Travels of Dean Mahomet" in the year 1794.

Mahomet was born in 1759 to a middle class Bangali family near Patna. At the age of eleven, he caught the attention of a young AngloIrish cadet named Baker, who made him part of his entourage in the Third Bengal Regiment. He rose to the rank of subaltern and saw action at towns along the Ganges and Jamuna, but when Baker, perhaps wrongfully, was disgraced for embezzlement, and therefore resigned his commission, Mahomet followed him to Ireland.

At Cork, Mahomet married, started a family and lived for twenty-five years under the generous protection of the Bakers. His book, Travels, was a success and enhanced his social position. In 1809, he went to assist a wealthy nabob in "vapour baths" off Portman Square, and later he founded a "Hindustanee Coffee House", really a restaurant - but this failed and made him bankrupt.

The Mahomets retired to Brighton, by then a popular resort, and were at once a great success with their bath establishments, which included "medicated shampooing" with Indian herbs and oils, and other exotic luxuries such as, Indian-powder and hairdyes. Thanks to the patronage of King George IV and King William IV, he received a royal warrant as "Shampooing Surgeon'to Their Majesties. Victoria, however, was not one for shampoos, and rival bath-houses emerged; the Mahomets' fortunes had greatly dwindled when they died in the 1850s.

Mahomet was born in 1759 to a middle class Bangali family near Patna. At the age of eleven, he caught the attention of a young AngloIrish cadet named Baker, who made him part of his entourage in the Third Bengal Regiment. He rose to the rank of subaltern and saw action at towns along the Ganges and Jamuna, but when Baker, perhaps wrongfully, was disgraced for embezzlement, and therefore resigned his commission, Mahomet followed him to Ireland. At Cork, Mahomet married, started a family and lived for twenty-five years under the generous protection of the Bakers. His book, Travels, was a success and enhanced his social position. In 1809, he went to assist a wealthy nabob in "vapour baths" off Portman Square, and later he founded a "Hindustanee Coffee House", really a restaurant - but this failed and made him bankrupt. The Mahomets retired to Brighton, by then a popular resort, and were at once a great success with their bath establishments, which included "medicated shampooing" with Indian herbs and oils, and other exotic luxuries such as, Indian-powder and hairdyes. Thanks to the patronage of King George IV and King William IV, he received a royal warrant as "Shampooing Surgeon'to Their Majesties. Victoria, however, was not one for shampoos, and rival bath-houses emerged; the Mahomets' fortunes had greatly dwindled when they died in the 1850s.

Travel route of Dean Mahomet

More interesting reading materials on Dean Mahomet:

1.The Travels of Dean Mahomet Edited by Michael H.Fisher, University of California Press,Price GBP 36:-

2.A Bangla article published in Sharadiyo Desh from Calcutta Bangla year 1402

3.Article in Bangla written By Sirajul Islam from Dhaka 1997 in a Bangla weekly called Bichitra. The title of the article is "Bilete Seikh Dean Mahomet- Ekti asadharan jibankatha".

The coverpage of the book written by Dean Mahomet.
Please note that the travel accounts were published in two volumes.

This page is dedicated to Atish Dipankar, the buddhist monk born in Bikrampur, near Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh.He was born in the year 982 AD.

He travelled to Tibet in the early teenage and became Buddhist monk. His total period of stay in Tibet was about 14 years. He authored many books in Tibetian language. The most known work is Bodhipathpradip. Atish Dipankar died at the age of 73(1054AD).

His disciple Dom-Ton completed the autobiography "Guru-Gun Dharmakar". Atish Dipankar was a scholar of unknown magnitude. He even travelled to Sumatra to establish Buddhist university there.

Ash of his body is well preserved in Kamlapur Buddhabihar in Dhaka. Late president of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman arranged the transfer of the ashcasket from China in 1978.

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