Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Brown, Charles Philip
BROWN, CHARLES PHILIP (1798–1884), Telugu scholar, son of the Rev. David Brown [q. v.], provost of the college of Calcutta, entered the Madras Civil Service in 1817, was employed for many years in revenue, magisterial, and judicial duties in the districts of Cuddapah and Masulipatam, where, in addition to a knowledge of Persian, Sanskrit, and Hindustani, he acquired that mastery over the hitherto neglected language and literature of Telugu which entitles him to a foremost place among South Indian scholars. He was appointed in 1838 Persian translator, and in 1846 postmaster-general and Telugu translator to the Madras government, and became at the same time a member of the council of education, a government director of the Madras bank, and curator of manuscripts in the college library. He resigned in 1855, after thirty-eight years of service. His principal works were his valuable dictionaries of Telugu-English (Madras, 1852), English-Telugu (Madras, 1852), and 'Mixed Dialects and Foreign Words used in Telugu' (Madras, 1854), published at the expense of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. His other writings included: 'Prosody of the Telugu and Sanskrit Languages explained,' Madras, 1827; 'Vemana's Verses, Moral, Religious, and Satirical,' Madras, 1829; 'Familiar Analysis of Sanskrit Prosody,' London, 1837; 'New Telugu Version of St. Luke,' 1838; 'Grammar of the Telugu Language,' Madras, 1840, 2nd ed. 1857; 'Cyclic Tables of Hindu and Mahomedan Chronology of the Telugu and Kanadi Countries,' Madras, 1850; 'English and Hindustani Phraseology,' Calcutta, 1860; 'Ephemeris, showing the corresponding Dates according to the English, Telugu, Malayalam, and Mahomedan Calendars, 1751-1850;' 'Telugu Reader: a Series of Letters, Private and on Business, and Revenue Matters, with English Translation,' Madras, 1852; 'Dialogues in Telugu and English,' 2nd ed. Madras, 1853; 'Vakyâvali; or, Exercises in Idioms, English and Telugu,' Madras, 1852; 'Zillah Dictionary in the Roman Character,' Madras, 1852; 'The Wars of the Rajahs,' Madras, 1853; 'Popular Telugu Tales,' 1855; 'A Titular Memoir,' London, 1861; 'Carnatic Chronology, the Hindu and Mahomedan Methods of reckoning Time, explained with Symbols and Historic Records,' London, 1863; 'Sanskrit Prosody and Numerical Symbols explained,' London (printed), 1869. He also edited 'Three Treatises on Mirâsi Rights,' &c.; translated from Mahratta the lives of Haidar Ali and Tippoo; and printed in 1866 an autobiography for private circulation. He was a frequent contributor to the 'Madras Journal of Literature and Science.' Some of his works were translated into Tamil, Canarese, and Hindustani. On his return to England he accepted the post of professor of Telugu at University College. Among his titles to fame must be reckoned the fine collection of manuscripts, including over 2,000 Sanskrit and Telugu works, which he presented in 1846 to the Madras Literary Society, and which now form part of the government college library.
[Autobiography (privately printed), with preface by D. F. Carmichael; Athenæum, No. 2984; Times, 20 Dec. 1884; Ann. Report Royal Asiatic Society, 1885.]