File BHH/1/20 - Letter from Eugène Jacquet to Brian Houghton Hodgson, 15 July 1837

Eugène Jacquet (1811-1838) was one of the earliest European scholars to make a comprehensive study of the numerical notations in India. He was born in Brussels on 10 May 1811. His family moved to Paris when he was two years old and after an education in Classical Studies he concentrated on eastern studies learning Persian, Arabic, Chinese, and Sanskrit. Eugène Jacquet was introduced to the Société Asiatique, Paris, on 7 September 1829 where he became soon one of the most active members. On 7 July 1838, he died of exhaustion, with a pencil and a notebook in his hands, amongst the coins sent to him by General Court because Jacquet was recognized as an authority in Indian epigraphy and numismatics.