Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
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Description area
Dates of existence
History
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded by the eminent Sanskrit scholar Sir Henry Thomas Colebrooke on the 15th March 1823. It received its Royal Charter from King George IV on the 11th August 1824 'for the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia'. It continues as a forum for those who are interested in the languages, cultures and history of Asia to meet and exchange ideas.
In 1923 the Centenary was celebrated with an international gathering of orientalists. The Prince of Wales and the Prime Minister attended the opening reception, the Government gave a lunch at Claridge's over which the Secretary of State presided. The Lord Mayor gave a reception at Mansion House, honorary degrees were conferred by Oxford and Cambridge; and there was a concluding banquet at the Hotel Cecil. A special supplement to the Journal was published containing a selection of the papers that had been presented. A Centenary Volume was also published edited by F.E. Pargiter.